The national flag of Ukraine (, ) consists of equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow.
The blue and yellow bicolor flag was first seen during the 1848 Spring of Nations in Lemberg (Lviv), the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria within the Austrian Empire. It was later adopted as a state flag by the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic, the West Ukrainian People's Republic, and the Ukrainian State following the Russian Revolution.
In March 1939, it was also adopted by Carpatho-Ukraine. However, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, the use of the bicolor flag was banned, and it was replaced by the flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. This flag featured a red background, with an azure bottom and a golden hammer and sickle, along with a golden-bordered red star on top. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, the bicolor flag gradually returned to use before being officially adopted again on 28 January 1992 by the Ukrainian parliament.
Ukraine has celebrated the Day of the National Flag on 23 August since 2004.
Design Ukrainian law states that the colours of the Ukrainian flag are "blue and yellow", but other state bodies have determined the colours. In the table below, the colours are presented according to DSTU 4512:2006 technical specifications: (The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine made this standard mandatory for military funeral flags in 2021.)
Scheme Strong azure Yellow PantonePantone Coated 2935 CPantone Coated Yellow 012 C RAL 5019 Azure 1023 Gold (golden) RGB color model 0, 87, 183 255, 215, 0 CMYK 100, 63, 0, 2 0, 2, 98, 0 HEX #0057B7 #FFD700 Websafe #0066CC #FFCC00
There has been disagreement over the shade of blue used in the flag. Both dark blue () and sky blue () flags were historically used. When the flag was approved in 1992, the dark blue colour was chosen over sky blue for practical reasons: sky blue flags fade very quickly in the sun. Although the official standard was introduced in 2006, some manufacturers keep producing flags that do not match the standard.
The flag is similar to that of the Austrian state of Lower Austria, the German city of Chemnitz, historical Kingdom of Dalmatia (now Croatia) and the Hungarian city of Pécs, but all of those flags have a darker shade of blue. The flag is also somewhat similar to that of the Malaysian state of Perlis and the English county of Durham (without the cross), but has a reversed colour arrangement, lighter shades of blue and yellow, and a different aspect ratio.
Protocol and use
Article 20 of the Constitution of Ukraine states that "the State Flag of Ukraine is a banner of two equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow colour." ().
In addition to the normal horizontal format, many public buildings, such as the Verkhovna Rada, use vertical flags. Most town halls fly their town flag together with the national flag in this way; some town flags in Ukraine exist only in vertical form. The proportions of these vertical flags are not specified. When hung like a banner or draped, the blue band should be on the left. When flown from a vertical flagpole, the blue band must face the mast.
The flag did not appear on Ukrainian postal stamp issues until 1992, when they depicted the flag with the state coat of arms. Since then, the flag has frequently appeared on stamps. Cinderella stamps of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists were printed outside Ukraine during the Soviet period for patriotic purposes.
Decoration Traditionally, the flag may be decorated with a golden fringe surrounding the perimeter of the flag, as long as it does not deface the flag proper. The tradition began with the flag of the Ukrainian SSR. In addition, the Great Soviet Encyclopedia shows a flag decorated with a gold star. Ceremonial displays of the flag, such as those in parades or on indoor posts, often use a fringe to enhance the allure of the flag. No specific law governs the use of the fringe. Traditionally, the Army, Guard, Navy and Air Force use a fringed flag for parades, colour guards and indoor displays, while the Office of the President and local authorities use a fringed flag on all occasions.
Places of continuous display Ukrainian flags are customarily displayed continuously in certain locations. Maidan Nezalezhnosti, main square of Kyiv, traditional site for political rallies, including large-scale radical protest campaigns (Orange Revolution and Euromaidan) Presidential Administration Building, Verkhovna Rada building and Government Building Kyiv City Council Lviv High Castle Vernadsky Research Base State Border Guard Service of Ukraine sites National, regional and local government buildings Ukrainian embassies and consulates
Particular days for display The flag is hoisted up to its full staff on the following days: 1 January: New Year's Day 7 January: Christmas (Julian) 22 January: Ukrainian Unity and Freedom Day 8 March: International Women's Day 1 & 2 May: International Workers' Day 8 May: Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism 28 June: Constitution Day 23 August: Flag Day 24 August: Independence Day 13 October: Defenders of Ukraine Day 21 November: Day of Dignity and Freedom 6 December: Armed Forces Day 25 December: Christmas (Gregorian/Neo-Julian)
Display at half-staff The flag is displayed at half-staff (or half-mast) as a sign of respect or mourning. When done nationwide, such a step is proclaimed by the president. Half-mast means flying a flag two-thirds of the way up a flagpole; the top of the flag must be at least a flag's height from the top of the flagpole. Black ribbons indicate mourning on banners that can not be lowered to half-mast. 4th Saturday of November: Holodomor Memorial Day Other historical cases: mass victims of accidents, Russo-Ukrainian War and Euromaidan; death and state funeral of Lech and Maria Kaczyński, funeral of Pope John Paul II and September 11 attacks.
Flag Day
The Day of the National Flag in Ukraine is celebrated on 23 August; it began in 2004.Ukraine celebrates National Flag Day , Xinhua News Agency (August 23, 2012)Ceremony of hoisting Ukraine's national flag held at presidential administration, Kyiv Post (August 23, 2011)Україна відзначає День Державного прапора "On Tuesday, August 23, all of Ukraine celebrates National Flag Day. Measures to raise the national flag are planned throughout the country." , 1+1 (August 23, 2011) Previously, 24 July was National Flag Day in Kyiv. The first ceremonial raising of the yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag in modern times took place on 24 July 1990, at the flagstaff of the Kyiv City Council, two years before the flag was officially adopted as the National flag. Since 1992, the Independence Day of Ukraine has been celebrated on 24 August. Following a government decree, the flag must be flown from public buildings on this date and certain other holidays; not all are public holidays. Flags must also be flown on parliamentary election days and regional-specific flag days. The public display of flags to mark other events, such as the election of the president or the death of a prominent politician (whereupon flags are flown at half-mast), can be declared at the discretion of the Cabinet of Ministers. When flags are flown at half-mast, vertical flags are not lowered. A black mourning ribbon is instead attached, either atop the mast if hung from a pole, or to each end of the flag's supporting cross-beams if flown like a banner.
History
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The roots of Ukrainian national symbols come from pre-Christian times when yellow and blue prevailed in traditional ceremonies, reflecting fire and water. The most solid proof of yellow and blue colours can be traced back as far as the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, in which militia formations from the Ruthenian Voivodeship participated.
Cossack age
Blue-yellow, red-black, crimson-olive and especially raspberry colour banners were widely used by Ukrainian Cossacks between the 16th and 18th centuries. These were not the only possible combinations, since normally Cossacks would fly their hetman's banners, which were similar to the coats of arms of the nobility. Also, yellow and blue were the colours common on coats of arms in Galicia. In fact, the coat of arms of Lviv to this day remains a golden lion on a blue field.
Imperial age
Some put the starting point of the adoption of the current national flag of Ukraine to 1848 when, during the Spring of Nations on 22 April 1848, a blue-and-yellow banner was adopted by the Supreme Ruthenian Council in Lemberg (Lviv), the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (a crownland of the Austrian Empire). On 25 June 1848 two blue and yellow banners flew over the city's magistrate (Rathaus) for the first time. It is unknown who hang the banners and the Austrian authorities dissociated themselves from this action, as did the Supreme Ruthenian Council itself. The banners hung for almost a week. At the request of the Supreme Ruthenian Council, on 15 May 1849 a yellow-and-blue flag hang again on the Rathaus, this time for one day. Although this move did not have significant consequences, the newly formed Ukrainian divisions in the Imperial-Royal Landwehr of the Austro-Hungarian Army used blue-and-yellow banners in their insignia.
During the Russian Revolution of 1905, this flag was used by Ukrainians of the Dnieper Ukraine.
Early independence: 1917–1921
Both blue-yellow and yellow-blue flags were widely used during the Ukrainian struggle for independence in 1917. For the first time in the history of the Russian Empire, the blue-yellow flag was flown on 25 March 1917 in Petrograd during a 20,000-strong mass demonstration. On the territory of Ukraine the national flag was flown for the first time in Kyiv on 29 March 1917 by soldiers. On 1 April 1917, Kyiv saw a 100,000-strong demonstration where over 320 national flags were flown. Afterwards, similar demonstrations with Ukrainian flags took place across the entire Russian Empire, even beyond ethnic Ukrainian lands. Numerous famous Ukrainian politicians wrote about the 1 April demonstration, including Mykhailo Hrushevsky and Serhiy Yefremov, noting that there were blue-and-yellow flags, while Dmytro Doroshenko claimed that they were yellow and blue. The blue-yellow flag was flown at the First Ukrainian Military Congress on 18 May 1917.
The official flag established by the Ukrainian People's Republic in 1918 was blue-yellow. Instead, they refer to the decision on the Fleet Flag, which was to be light blue–yellow, as an indication that the official flag was light blue–yellow. Also adopted were several other service flags of the Ukrainian People's Republic.Grechylo A. Ukrayinska Terytorialna Heraldyka. Lviv, 2010, pp. 98–118.
The official flag of Pavlo Skoropadsky's Hetmanate was also light blue-yellow and remained the same under the Directorate of Symon Petlura. The flag of the West Ukrainian People's Republic was blue-yellow. The stateless Makhnovshchina, which existed during the Ukrainian War of Independence, used the black flag.
Among Ukrainian immigrant organisations, there were proponents of both blue-yellow and yellow-blue flags. Eventually, an agreement was reached to use the blue-yellow flag until the issue could be resolved by an independent Ukraine.
Soviet Ukraine: 1922–1991
During Soviet rule, the Ukrainian flag was banned, and anyone displaying it could be criminally prosecuted for "anti-Soviet propaganda". The first flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on 10 March 1919, to serve as the symbol of state of Soviet Ukraine. Details of the official flag changed periodically before the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, but all were based on the red flag of the October Revolution in Russia and an exact replica of the flags of the neighbouring Russian SFSR.