On April 17, 2014, approximately two thousand residents of Kramatorsk and nearby towns gathered under blue-and-yellow flags for a pro-Ukrainian rally.
The presence of checkpoints and barricades set up by terrorists in the city, as well as the chaos caused by the seizure of the city council and police station by Russian mercenaries, did not prevent citizens from proudly raising national flags and holding a rally under the slogans “Kramatorsk is Ukraine!”, “Ukraine is united!”, “Glory to the Ukrainian Army,” “Our Family Is Ukraine,” and others.
Among the participants were many women, children, and elderly people. None of them knew how the march through the city center might end, but it was a shared decision and a shared responsibility for one another.
Up to 100 supporters of pro-Russian terrorists attempted to attack the protesters, but were forced to stop in the face of the determination and unity of the Ukrainian patriots.
Since then, every year until Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the city community has celebrated this date as the Day of Free People.
One of the symbols of the April 17, 2014, rally was a 40-meter-long Ukrainian flag, which was sewn specifically for the event. That day, it was carried from “The Plane” to Peace Square. Since then, this flag has been present at nearly all major events in Kramatorsk. In 2018, the inscription “Kramatorsk – This Is Ukraine 04/17/2014” was added to it.
The “Ukraine Is United!” campaign on April 17, 2014, served as an example for many Ukrainian patriots, inspiring residents of cities and towns captured by Russian mercenaries in 2014 to fight against the Russian occupiers.
Following the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, the solidarity of Kramatorsk’s residents on Free People’s Day took on particular significance as an example of Ukrainian citizens uniting in the struggle for the country’s freedom and unity.