Ukraine is marking Volunteer Fighter Day on March 14.
On this day in 2014, the first 500 volunteer fighters of the Maidan Self-Defense arrived at the Novi Petrivtsi training ground to form the first volunteer battalion.
On January 17, 2017, the Verkhovna Rada adopted resolution No. 4261 on the establishment of the Day of Ukrainian Volunteer Fighters. This year, Ukrainians celebrate this holiday for the second time.
Read alsoHeavenly Hundred Heroes honored in Kyiv (Photo)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko greeted the nation on this day.
"Today we remember the Ukrainian patriots who, since the beginning of the events in the east of Ukraine, volunteered to defend the state from the Russian aggressor, having no military background. I thank all volunteer fighters who, having acquired invaluable combat experience, joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard and the National Police, or take an active civil position in civil life. [I thank] all who have chosen an honorable thing – to defend their homeland," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook.
In turn, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman thanked "every fighter for their feat!"
