AFU General Staff: St Barbara to become the patron of artillery in Ukraine
Zelensky has moved the date for celebrating Artillery Forces Day from November 3 to December 4, the day commemorating Saint Barbara by the new calendar.
A day before Artillery and Missile Forces Day, Volodymyr Zelensky canceled the holiday and postponed it by a month. The General Staff announced that December 4 is the feast day of Saint Barbara, who is regarded as the patron saint of artillery in Europe and the United States, reports Strana.
"Her life story includes an event involving lightning and thunder, symbolizing the powerful destructive force of artillery weapons," said the General Staff.
Additionally, the General Staff stated that the date November 3 "is associated with events from World War II and has Soviet roots."
It is noted that November 3 was designated as Artillery Forces Day by President Leonid Kuchma in 1997, marking the anniversary of the Kyiv Offensive Operation by the Red Army in 1943, during which Kyiv and Zhytomyr were liberated from the Germans.
In the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the feast day of Saint Barbara the Great Martyr is celebrated on December 17 (new style).
