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Public holidays in Ukraine

0 days in 2026 · 0 in 2027

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Ukrainian law lists eleven public holidays, and while martial law lasts none of them is a day off. The labour act passed for wartime on 15 March 2022 suspends the article of the Labour Code that makes a holiday a non-working day, so each one is marked and worked. The days off come back on the day martial law is lifted, when that act lapses.

The calendar itself was rewritten in 2023. Christmas moved to 25 December alone, dropping 7 January; Statehood Day moved from 28 July to 15 July, and the Day of Defenders from 14 October to 1 October. Victory over Nazism moved from 9 May to 8 May. Easter and Trinity still fall on their Orthodox dates: 12 April and 31 May in 2026, 2 May and 20 June in 2027.

The war has also changed which days people value. In 2017, 49% of respondents to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology named International Women's Day their most beloved holiday; in March 2024 the share was 21%, while Independence Day and Defenders Day both gained.

Days off in 2026
0Suspended since 2022: martial law makes every public holiday a working day
On a weekday
0Monday to Friday
On a weekend
0Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
0three days off or more

2026

Public holidays in Ukraine in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayНовий рікNew Year's Day. The evening before is also Malanka, the Bounteous Evening of the folk calendar.Thursday
  2. 8 March: International Women's DayМіжнародний жіночий деньInternational Women's Day. It fell on a Sunday in 2026 and falls on a Monday in 2027.Sunday
  3. 12 April: Easter SundayВеликденьEaster, on the Orthodox date. It fell on 12 April in 2026 and falls on 2 May in 2027, the day after Labour Day.SundayDate moves
  4. 1 May: International Workers' DayДень праціLabour Day. Until 2018 the day after, 2 May, was a public holiday too.Friday
  5. 8 May: Victory day over Nazism in World War IIДень пам'яті та перемоги над нацизмом у Другій світовій війні 1939-1945 роківIn full the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War, 1939 to 1945. Parliament moved it from 9 May to 8 May in 2023, and 9 May is now Europe Day.Friday
  6. 31 May: PentecostТрійцяTrinity, the Orthodox Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter and so always a Sunday.SundayDate moves
  7. 28 June: Constitution DayДень Конституції УкраїниThe constitution adopted on 28 June 1996.Sunday
  8. 15 July: Statehood DayДень Української ДержавностіStatehood Day, tied to the Christianisation of Kyivan Rus'. It was kept on 28 July until 2023 and now shares 15 July with the Day of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus'.Wednesday
  9. 24 August: Independence DayДень незалежності УкраїниIndependence from the Soviet Union, declared on 24 August 1991.Monday
  10. 1 October: Defender of Ukraine DayДень захисників і захисниць УкраїниThe Day of Defenders, men and women, a public holiday since 2015. It was kept on 14 October until 2022 and moved to 1 October, which is also Veterans' Day and the Day of Ukrainian Cossacks.Thursday
  11. 25 December: Christmas DayРіздво ХристовеChristmas. A day off from 2017 beside 7 January, and since 2023 the only official date.Friday

2027

Public holidays in Ukraine in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's DayНовий рікFriday
  2. 8 March: International Women's DayМіжнародний жіночий деньMonday
  3. 1 May: International Workers' DayДень праціSaturday
  4. 2 May: Easter SundayВеликденьSundayDate moves
  5. 8 May: Victory day over Nazism in World War IIДень пам'яті та перемоги над нацизмом у Другій світовій війні 1939-1945 роківSaturday
  6. 20 June: PentecostТрійцяSundayDate moves
  7. 28 June: Constitution DayДень Конституції УкраїниMonday
  8. 15 July: Statehood DayДень Української ДержавностіThursday
  9. 24 August: Independence DayДень незалежності УкраїниTuesday
  10. 1 October: Defender of Ukraine DayДень захисників і захисниць УкраїниFriday
  11. 25 December: Christmas DayРіздво ХристовеSaturday

The wartime rule is Article 6, part 6, of Law No. 2136-IX, in the wording of 1 July 2022. Besides the holidays in Article 73 of the Labour Code it switches off parts three to five of Article 67, the provision that carries a day off forward when a holiday falls on a weekend. In 2026 that would have made Monday 9 March and Monday 29 June days off, after Women's Day and Constitution Day fell on Sundays; both stayed working days.

Parliament made 25 December the only Christmas holiday in July 2023, and in September the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church moved to the Revised Julian calendar, which keeps the feast on the same day. Between 2017 and 2022 the state kept two, 7 January by the Julian calendar and 25 December by the Gregorian.

The official calendar names far more days than the eleven: professional days such as Journalists' Day on 6 June and Miners' Day at the end of August, memorial days such as 22 June, the Day of Mourning for the victims of war, and 29 August, the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine. None of them was a day off even before 2022.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in Ukraine

How many public holidays does Ukraine have in 2026?

Eleven by law, the last of the year being Christmas on 25 December. Under martial law none of them is a day off, so in 2026 every one that fell on a weekday was worked. Four fell on a Sunday anyway: Women's Day on 8 March, Easter on 12 April, Trinity on 31 May and Constitution Day on 28 June.

Are public holidays days off in Ukraine during martial law?

No. Law No. 2136-IX, passed on 15 March 2022 to govern work in wartime, suspends Article 73 of the Labour Code, which is the article that makes a public holiday a non-working day. The holidays stay in the law and in the official calendar and are still marked, but employers keep ordinary working days. The act lapses on the day martial law ends or is lifted, and the days off return with it.

Does Ukraine still celebrate Christmas on 7 January?

Not officially. In July 2023 parliament made 25 December the only Christmas holiday, and that September the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Greek Catholic Church moved to the Revised Julian calendar. From 2017 to 2022 both 7 January and 25 December were public holidays. In 2026 Christmas falls on a Friday, in 2027 on a Saturday.

When is Easter in Ukraine in 2027?

Sunday 2 May 2027, on the Orthodox date, the day after Labour Day on Saturday 1 May. Trinity follows seven weeks later on Sunday 20 June. In 2026 Easter fell on 12 April and Trinity on 31 May. Easter Monday is not a public holiday in Ukraine.

Why did Ukraine move Victory Day to 8 May?

Parliament moved the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War from 9 May to 8 May in 2023. The celebration on 9 May was cancelled, and in the official calendar that date now belongs to Europe Day. In 2026 the holiday fell on a Friday.

On which weekday does Independence Day fall?

On 24 August, the anniversary of the declaration of 1991 that took Ukraine out of the Soviet Union. It fell on Monday 24 August 2026 and falls on Tuesday 24 August 2027. In the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology's survey of March 2024 it was one of two holidays whose popularity had almost doubled, the other being Defenders Day.

What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend in Ukraine?

In peacetime the Labour Code moves the day off to the next working day. That rule, in Article 67, is suspended under martial law together with the holidays themselves, so a Sunday holiday gives no Monday off. In 2026 that applied to 8 March and 28 June.

When are Statehood Day and Defenders Day?

Statehood Day is on 15 July and the Day of Defenders on 1 October. Both dates are new: until 2023 Statehood Day was kept on 28 July, and the Day of Defenders on 14 October until 2022. In 2026 they fell on a Wednesday and a Thursday. The Day of Defenders has been a public holiday since 2015.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-09-26. The page counts from Monday, 28 September 2026, the day it was built.