[8][11][12] On 14 October 2014, a decree by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko decreed the new holiday "Defender of Ukraine Day" (Ukrainian: День захи́сника́ Украї́ни, romanized: Den zakhysnyka Ukrainy) due to the Russo-Ukrainian War and decommunization in Ukraine.
[17] According to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) in 2017 only 10% of the Ukrainian population celebrated the holiday.
[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 (in Ukrainian 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.
[14] The holiday was especially popular among Ukrainian Cossacks, who celebrated it since at least the 17th century as they believed the Mother of God (also known as "Theotokos") to be their patroness.