Aug. 23, 2025, 8:54 p.m.
(Photo: Intent/Valeriy Bolgan)
The action in memory of the fallen heroes took place on August 23 on Exchange Square in front of the Odesa City Council building.
According to Intent's correspondent, the participants of the action laid out a map of Ukraine in the universally recognized borders of 1991 from candles, and then set fire to these candles.
The action was accompanied by a prayer and was held as part of the Vyshyvanka Festival and dedicated to the Day of the National Flag of Ukraine.
National Flag Day is an official holiday celebrated annually on August 23. It was established to honor the national symbol of Ukraine, the blue and yellow flag, which has a deep historical and cultural significance for the Ukrainian people.
The holiday was officially introduced by a decree of the President of Ukraine on August 23, 2004, to emphasize the importance of the national flag in the history of Ukrainian statehood and to foster respect for national symbols. In 2009, the decree was amended, and since then, an official ceremony of raising the national flag has been held across the country on August 23.
"It should be noted that this year, 100% of the events are supported by the Odesa City Council. We are grateful to them. This support helped us to decide to resume the legendary events," said Natalia Mazharova, head of the Vyshyvanka Festival NGO.
Last year, on August 23, on Flag Day, a large national flag of Ukraine was solemnly unfurled in Odesa for the first time since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This tradition was established as part of the Vyshyvanka Festival in 2009 and will be held annually on the Day of the National Flag of Ukraine until 2021. Due to the full-scale invasion that began in 2022, the event was suspended for security reasons.
In the third year of the invasion, the organizers, inspired by the courage of Ukraine's defenders, decided to resume this important symbolic event. They took on the responsibility to support the fighting spirit of Odessans and express their gratitude to all the defenders of Ukraine for the fact that Odesa can continue to live under the blue and yellow flag.
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