Rada declares February 24 the National Day of Prayer

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Photo: static.dw

On Wednesday, February 12, the Verkhovna Rada approved a bill establishing the National Day of Prayer in Ukraine, to be observed annually on February 24, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported.

He published a photo of the voting board: 255 deputies voted in favor of the resolution.

According to him, on February 24 the Parliament will begin its session “with the performance of Ukraine’s spiritual anthem, ‘O Great and Only God’.”

“The common prayer will protect Ukraine and those who continue to fight on the battlefield, will bear witness to the spiritual unity of the Ukrainian people, and will symbolize our steadfast faith in victory,” reads the explanatory note.

As the UOJ previously reported, on December 19, 2024, a draft law was registered in the Verkhovna Rada – “On Amendments to Article 73 of the Labor Code of Ukraine Concerning the Establishment of the National Day of Prayer” (Reg. No. 12336). The bill proposed to establish an annual National Day of Prayer to be observed on February 24 – the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Political analyst Kostiantyn Bondarenko commented on the deputies’ initiative: “A call to prayer from authorities that have destroyed the Church is the height of cynicism.”

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