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According to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in 2017 only 10% of the Ukrainian population celebrated the holiday.[18] In 2021 KIIS opinion polls showed that the holiday was popular among 29% of respondents.[18]
On 14 July 2021 parliament officially altered the name to (Ukrainian: День захи́сникі́в і захи́сни́ць Украї́ни, romanized: Den zakhysnykiv i zakhysnyts Ukrainy), explicitly to include the female defenders of Ukraine (inUkrainian grammar захисників is the masculine form of the word defender and захисниць the feminine form).[7][1][19][20]
After the Bishops' Council was held on May 24, 2023, it became known that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine would ask the authorities to shift the Day of Defenders of Ukraine, as well as the Day of Ukrainian Statehood, due to a calendar reform [uk], because the Protection of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary in the OCU and UGCC will be celebrated on October 1 from 2023.[21] On 28 June 2023 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law that moves the Day of Defenders of Ukraine from October 14 to October 1.[22][23] Parliament approved this law on 14 July 2023 by 241 deputies supported the law.[8] On July 28, 2023, Zelenskyy signed the draft law and Presidential Decree No. 455/2023 "On Amendments to Certain Decrees of the President of Ukraine", so the date of the holiday was finally shifted.[24]
The Russian invasion of Ukraine that started on 24 February 2022 led to a reappraisal of the popularity of Defenders Day in Ukraine.[18] A March 2024 study by KIIS found that the popularity of Independence Day of Ukraine and Defenders Day had both almost more than doubled (from 37% to 64% and from 29% to 58%).[18]
Intercession of the Theotokos in Ukrainian history[edit]
In an effort to adopt some Cossack traditions, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (1942–1956) chose the day of the Intercession of the Theotokos to be the official day of their establishment.[7][14]
