Every year on July 15, Ukraine celebrates Ukrainian Statehood Day. This holiday symbolizes the continuity and legacy of Ukraine’s more than thousand-year history. On this day, we honor all the stages of our nation-building, the affirmation of our European civilizational choice, and the unity of the nation in the struggle for independence against our age-old enemy.
Ukrainian Statehood Day serves as a reminder that our statehood has a history spanning more than a millennium. From Kievan Rus’ and the Cossacks to the Ukrainian People’s Republic and modern Ukraine—we are the heirs of the generations who shaped the history of the Ukrainian state.
The Ukrainian tradition of statehood has a thousand-year history and dates back to the founding of the Old Rus’ state by Prince Oleg in 882. It was during the era of the princes that the Old Ukrainian language took shape, the first self-designations of our people—“Rus,” “Rusychi,” and “Rusyns”—emerged, and the Cyrillic alphabet became our writing system. Our national coat of arms—the trident—and the name of our currency—the hryvnia—date back to that time, and the word “Ukraine” has been in use since 1187. Ukraine is the rightful heir to the state and cultural traditions of Kievan Rus’.
But the most momentous event in our national history was the Baptism of Rus’ on July 15, 988, by Prince Vladimir the Great of Kyiv. The adoption of Christianity marked not only the acceptance by the people and the state of the highest ethical and moral standards, but also led to a fundamental change in worldview, a flourishing of education and culture, the formation of national unity, the drafting of the first code of laws, and the minting of its own currency. The masterpieces of world-class architecture built at that time—St. Sophia Cathedral, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, as well as notable landmarks in other cities of Ukraine—remain the pride and hallmark of the capital to this day.
The traditions of Rus’ in shaping a pan-European cultural and religious space were continued, in particular, by the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia, the Ukrainian Cossack State, the Ukrainian People’s Republic, the West Ukrainian People’s Republic, the Ukrainian State under Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi, Carpathian Ukraine, and modern independent Ukraine.
Throughout their long history, Ukrainians have never ceased their struggle for freedom and statehood. Ukraine first proclaimed its independence in the 20th century on January 22, 1918, and restored it by an act on August 24, 1991. Several times in the 20th century, Ukraine gained sovereignty and lost it due to internal discord during periods of external aggression.
The experience of past centuries has shown that an independent state is the only way to ensure physical survival and the guarantee of stable development and national unity. It is evident that throughout its history, the Ukrainian people have always demonstrated the desire and determination to establish their own Independent and United Ukrainian State.
Today, amid a full-scale war, Ukrainian Statehood Day takes on special significance. We must clearly understand: the enemy is not merely fighting for territory, but against our very identity; it seeks the complete destruction of Ukraine as a state.
However, statehood—which has withstood more than ten centuries of trials—cannot be destroyed. It lives on in every Ukrainian who takes up arms, volunteers, or simply works selflessly in their own capacity.
Preserving a sovereign, united, and democratic Ukraine is the highest national priority and the duty of every Ukrainian toward future generations. Statehood is all of us. Every citizen is part of the state, and preserving it today is our foremost national task.