Ukraine commemorates National Defenders' Day - ANALYSIS
By Peter M. Tase, a freelance writer and journalist of International Relations, Latin American and Southern Caucasus current affairs
Last September 2026, the 81st UN General Assembly was held under a compelling theme: restoring trust and managing transformation. While UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his final address before the end of his second term, warned of widening global fault lines, the US-Israel war on Iran and artificial intelligence, he failed to mention that Ukrainians are lions in battle and have become the sole human shield of the free world.
Russia's war against Ukraine has involved a large-scale humanitarian and infrastructure destruction, profound human suffering and has brought European defense architecture into a very vulnerable position, as the Armed Forces of Ukraine are facing alone a brutal aggression that is threatening to expand the devastation of war into other regions of Europe.
To many observes of international politics it appeared inappropriate that the majority of world leaders were focused on how to attract investment on their countries and pushed for urgent need for reform at the 81st United Nations General Assembly; as Russian drone incursions along NATO’s eastern border are on the rise and many global security challenges are deeply connected with the ongoing full-fledged Russian war against Ukraine.
The world is living through profound geopolitical fractures, and through a strategic approach of Minilateralism; while Putin continues to drive a wedge between allies, particularly Europeans and Americans. European Union’s long-standing relationship with the United States is equally important to the great economic, security and geostrategic relationship with Ukraine.
On October 1st, Ukrainians honor the national defenders' contributions (those men and women who are defending the national sovereignty of Ukraine), the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God, and Ukrainian Cossack Day. Ukraine celebrated Defenders’ Day on October 1st, for the first time in 2023. On that same October 1, this major holiday was officially celebrated alongside the new date for the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God.
For centuries, the Intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God has held a very special significance for the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance notes that the Cossacks revered the Intercession as one of their greatest sacred festivals and the Mother of God was considered as their patroness. For this reason, the Intercession came to be known by another name—the Cossack Intercession. Such a significant spiritual connection to military tradition had existed long before the emergence of the modern Ukrainian state. Cossack military communities regarded the Intercession as a special day and linked it with a greater protection from enemies in the frontlines.
The people of Ukraine have become a human shield in defense of the Free World. Ukrainian brave defenders are holding back and containing the greatest threat to global democracy since World War II. They are protecting not only their own borders but also ensuring a greater quality of life and peaceful cities across Europe while defending the sacred principles of international law and promoting institutional development in times of war. The security of entire Euro – Atlantic Community depends on the men and women soldiers of Ukraine, whose patriotism is a genuine living shield protecting the values of freedom, democracy, economic growth and regional security.
Furthermore, Ukraine has introduced a visionary concept in the organization of its armed forces, the concept of parity is of paramount importance that deserves global recognition. The Ukrainian army is one of the most progressive Defense Forces in the World as women are integrated into combat units. Women fight on the front lines as artillery operators, snipers, drone pilots, and commanders.
According to Mr. Estanislao Franco de Oliveira, one of Paraguay's renowned Entrepreneurs: "Freedom has no gender. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian women are defending their country's future on the front lines—professionally and on equal terms with men. Ukraine has an army of citizens, not mercenaries. Ukraine's defenders are ordinary people—teachers, IT specialists, doctors, artists, and entrepreneurs—who left civilian life behind to protect their families. They embody the will of an entire nation."
The Euro-Atlantic Alliance of nations and consolidated democracies recognize that this is a war fought by people who defend their homes. The Ukrainian army represents the blossom of an entire nation—people forced to trade their civilian professions for weapons in order to survive.
On October 7th, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia's continued missile strikes against Ukraine represent a deliberate choice to use terror and called on international partners to increase pressure on Moscow and strengthen defense support for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian head of state emphasized: "The Russians know very well that they are striking ordinary cities, ordinary life. And the continued use of missiles against Ukraine, against our people, our children, is an absolutely deliberate choice of terror. This is what Moscow chooses – despite all our efforts with partners to bring peace closer. And this is a clear reason why more pressure on Russia is needed and why Ukraine needs more defense packages. It is important that leaders understand this. It is important that the world not remain silent today."
Ukrainian Forces are not merely on a territorial dispute with Moscow but this is an existential war. Defenders are holding back genocidal aggression aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity. Just as Prof. Dr. Jeton Kelmendi of AAB College Prishtina, once said: "If Russia stops fighting, there will be no war. If Ukraine stops defending itself, there will be no Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers are fighting for their countrymen's very right to exist."
This month, Ukrainian Forces commemorate historic achievements in pioneering new battlefield tactics and military technology, have demonstrated astonishing ingenuity by integrating artificial intelligence, commercial drones, and civilian technologies into defense operations. Kyiv is shaping the future of military doctrine for the entire world. Ukrainian soldiers are rewriting the rules of modern warfare. Their ingenuity and technological agility, resilience and grit are captivating the world's top military experts.
On October 7, dozens of people were injured from the Russian strike, including seven children. Fifteen people were rescued, including one child. There are still people who have not yet been accounted for. According to Ukrinform, three days of mourning have been declared in Pryluky, Chernihiv region, in honor of Ukrainian civilians who were killed from the Russian missile strike on an apartment building.
Since the war begun on February 2022, the essence of Ukrainian soldiers' attitude has always been the deep respect for the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols (as a sharp contrast to occupying Russian forces): Ukrainian soldiers rescue animals from combat zones, evacuate civilians under fire, and adhere to humanitarian principes regarding prisoners of war. Ukrainian defenders fight not out of hatred for those facing them, but out of love for those behind them. Even in the abyss of war, above all they remain human.
Photo: Pexels (Free Stock Photos)
