2024-08-24T13:51:00+03:00 Society 2024-09-17T04:06:43+03:00

Ukrainian news

Ukraine celebrates Independence Day today

Ukraine celebrates Independence Day today

Today, August 24, marks the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine's Independence.

Ukrainian News Agency will tell about the history of the most important day for the state and why it was originally celebrated in July.

On July 16, 1990, members of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Declaration on State Sovereignty, which actually became the program for building an independent state.

One of the main provisions of the Declaration was the provision on citizenship. It was noted that Ukraine has its own citizenship, where all citizens are equal before the law.

The Declaration also proclaimed:

• Ukraine's economic independence. The document emphasized the intention to create a banking, financial, customs and tax system, to form a state budget, and, if necessary, to introduce its own currency.
• recognized the independence of the republic in solving the issues of science, education, cultural and spiritual development of the Ukrainian nation.
• Ukraine's right to directly implement relations with other states, conclude agreements with them, exchange diplomatic, consular, and trade missions.

At the same time, on July 16, 1990, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution "On the Day of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine":

"The Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic decrees: to consider July 16 as the Day of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine and to annually celebrate it as a national public holiday of Ukraine," the resolution read.

Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR during the adoption of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine

On March 17, 1991, the Ukrainian SSR held a referendum and a republican poll on whether citizens agree that Ukraine should remain a part of the Union of Sovereign Republics on the basis of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine. 80% of respondents answered positively.

Therefore, Ukraine celebrated the first anniversary of its independence on July 16, 1991 - while it was actually part of the USSR.

Independence Day on August 24

In August 1991, the August Putsch [Coup] took place - an attempt to remove the power of the President of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev.

Because of this, on August 24, 1991, at an extraordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 346 MPs voted for the adoption of the Act of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine. The document proclaimed the creation of an independent Ukrainian state. The text was typed on a typewriter and fit on one sheet of paper.

Text of the Act

The Verkhovna Rada decided to hold an all-Ukrainian referendum on the declaration of Ukraine's independence on December 1, 1991.

One question was put to the referendum: "Do you confirm the Act of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine?" 31,891,742 people - 84.18% of the population of Ukraine - took part in the voting. Of them, 90.32% (28,804,071 people) voted for.

And already on February 20, 1992, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a new resolution "On the Independence Day of Ukraine":

"1. To consider August 24 as the Independence Day of Ukraine and to celebrate it annually as a national public holiday of Ukraine. 2. To consider the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR "On the Day of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine" dated July 16, 1990 as having lost its validity."

Act of Proclamation of Ukraine's Independence in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

We will remind you that earlier the National Police warned about the threat of massive missile attacks on Ukraine on August 24.