Ukrainian Independence Day: Working to Restore Independence

August 24, 2023April 7, 2026

Today more than ever it’s obvious we celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day in advance. Indeed, independence or sovereignty hasn’t extended to Ukraine’s entire territory for over 9 years already. It depends on when Ukraine’s entire territory gets liberated and its territorial integrity restored, and accordingly — sovereignty. Well, in the struggle to restore territorial integrity, we depend in many ways on our partners. The only reason to consider precisely August 24 as independence day is signing the declaration of independence. But a declaration only announces what and how should happen next, not affirms what already happened.

Moreover, simply assigning independence day to some date that exists now, we sort of say Ukraine didn’t have independence before this moment, meaning no statehood either. Thereby we confirm enemy propaganda theses that Ukraine is an “artificial state” allocated from the empire’s composition. In reality, Ukrainian statehood is five times older — Russia didn’t even exist until 1721.

Baltic Countries: Day of Independence Restoration

Baltic countries, for example, didn’t forget about their statehood that existed outside the Soviet Union. They celebrate “independence restoration day“. Such formulation more accurately conveys the essence of what they celebrate. Moreover, the holiday’s name exposes the country that took away this independence not once and now threatens their independence exactly as 83 years ago, for example. There they clearly remember and understand this directly and without streamlined formulations. Because if a person not knowing circumstances under which Lithuania lost independence asks a local resident how this happened, that person will tell about it in detail and clearly.

By the way, Ukraine last gained its independence under approximately the same circumstances as Baltic countries. Simply it lasted far less time with us, but the same conqueror took it away using force. But many don’t know all these circumstances and don’t even catch the difference between formulations “independence day” and “independence restoration day”. So if you already consider August 24 a holiday, you need to call it correctly.

AFU Currently Winning Back Our Independence

In any case, right now the Armed Forces of Ukraine and all those who in one way or another work for our military are busy winning back our independence. Precisely it is the subject of this war. The aggressor already encroached on our territorial integrity and sovereignty, meaning independence too. So in the grand scheme, precisely today you can celebrate adoption of the independence act.

This happens precisely now. The question of when and in what form to properly mark Ukrainian Independence Day can be returned to only after not a single occupier remains on our land — whether armed or those who moved to occupied territories. Therefore a working day today is the right step. Our holidays still lie ahead.