Ukraine marks National Flag Day

The hiday was established “in honor of the centuries-d history of Ukrainian statehood, the state symbs of independent Ukraine and in order to foster respect for the state symbs of Ukraine” by the presidential decree of August 23, 2004. In 2009, the decree was amended to establish an annual official flag-raising ceremony throughout Ukraine on August 23, Ukrinform reports.

The blue and yellow cors on the flag have at least a thousand-year history and date back to the times of Kyivan Rus and the Kingdom of Galicia-Vhynia. During the wave of Eurean revutions in 1848, called the “Spring of Nations,” the blue and yellow flag was established as the flag of the Ukrainian pele. Back in June 1848, the flag was first raised above the Lviv Town Hal. The approval of the blue and yellow flag as the national one took place with the proclamation of the Ukrainian Pele's Republic. Then in the history of Ukraine, there was a period of the red flag with “sickle and hammer”, and pele were jailed for blue and yellow flag cors.

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In modern times, the national blue and yellow flag was first officially hoisted above the Stryi Town Hall on March 14, 1990. In Kyiv, the flag was raised over the city hall later, on July 24, 1990.

On August 23, 1991, a group of MPs brought the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag into the Verkhovna Rada session hall. On September 4, it was semnly raised over the parliament building.

After the beginning of Russian aggression, the blue and yellow flag became a symb of struggle and resistance to the invaders.