Today, on May 23, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Heroes, honoring the memory of people who gave their lives for the independence of our country at different times, UNN reports.
In 1941, the Second Great Assembly of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists decided to celebrate the Day of Heroes - fighters for an independent Ukraine of all times - every year on May 23.
The date of May 23 was not chosen by chance - it was on this day in 1938 that the Soviet agent Sudoplatov killed the OUN leader Yevhen Konovalets in Rotterdam.
The meeting noted that Mykola Mikhnovsky and Symon Petliura, fighters for Ukraine, also passed away in May.
Until 1992, Heroes' Day was celebrated in Ukraine underground. After Ukraine gained its independence, the holiday began to gain publicity, although it was celebrated mostly in western Ukraine.
Since 2014, May 23 has also been a day to honor the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred who died in Donbas, and since 2022, all those who gave their lives in the fight against full-scale Russian aggression.
At the same time, today's Heroes' Day is beginning to take on a new meaning: today is not only an opportunity to honor the memory of those who died for the freedom of Ukraine, but also to pay tribute to the living heroes who are fighting back against our enemy every day.