When is Remembrance and Victory Day?
In 2026, Remembrance and Victory Day falls on Friday, May 8, 2026. It is classified here as a Ukrainian public holiday.
History of Remembrance and Victory Day
Ukraine observes 8 May as the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War, 1939–1945. The framing places remembrance alongside victory: it recognises those who fought Nazism while also keeping civilians, deported people, prisoners, Holocaust victims and all others harmed by the war in view.
The date follows the broader European remembrance of the end of the war in Europe. Ukraine’s national-memory institutions stress that the Second World War was not a simple or distant story for Ukrainian society: it brought extraordinary loss, shifting occupations, mass violence and displacement. The appropriate tone is therefore one of respect and reflection rather than triumphalism.
Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism remains part of the permanent public-holiday framework in Article 73 of Ukraine’s Labour Code. In ordinary operation, Article 67 transfers a rest day to the following weekday when a listed holiday coincides with a weekly rest day. During any legally declared period of martial law, however, Article 6 of the special labour-relations act temporarily disapplies Articles 67 and 73. That suspension does not abolish or rename the holiday; it means the calendar date does not itself guarantee paid non-working time until the ordinary provisions resume. Employers and institutions must follow the law in force for the relevant year.
How Remembrance and Victory Day is observed
A statutory Ukrainian public-holiday date on May 8 under Article 73 of the Labour Code. During martial law, Article 73’s non-working-day rules do not apply, so employers, essential services and local authorities set practical schedules.
Traditions of Remembrance and Victory Day
Red poppy remembrance
The red poppy is widely used as a European symbol of remembrance for victims of the Second World War.
Memorial flowers
People lay flowers at military graves, memorials and places connected with civilian suffering and resistance. The practice gives Remembrance and Victory Day a concrete Ukrainian community, cultural or commemorative expression.
Historical programmes
Schools and museums examine the war’s Ukrainian dimensions, the Holocaust and the experience of people living under occupation.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Ukrainian law and government guidance. Working-day rules can be affected by martial-law legislation; confirm current government, employer and local-service arrangements.
History sources: Ukrainian Institute of National Memory: remembrance and victory materials, Verkhovna Rada: Labour Code, Article 73, Verkhovna Rada: Organisation of Labour Relations Under Martial Law Act, Article 6, Ukrainian Institute of National Memory.
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