Ukrainians Mark Vyshyvanka Day Amid Ongoing Russian Invasion
Ukrainians proudly wore traditional embroidered clothing on May 19 to celebrate Vyshyvanka Day amid Russia's ongoing invasion of their country.
The annual celebration takes place on the third Thursday of May and was started in 2006 by Lesia Voronyuk, a student at Chernivtsi National University who wanted to preserve Ukrainian folk traditions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rallied his nation by paying homage, saying: "This is our sacred talisman in this war. Happy Vyshyvanka Day, Ukraine!"
A woman places her hand over her heart as she wears a vyshyvanka, a traditionally embroidered garment in Lviv during the annual Vyshyvanka Day celebration on May 19.
A woman and a girl pose for a photo on Kyiv's Independence Square dressed in their vyshyvankas.
Ukrainians dressed in vyshyvankas walk through Kyiv.
A woman sews a vyshyvanka in Lviv.
A man also sews a vyshyvanka in Lviv.
Women place an embroidered shirt onto the monument of Ukrainian singer Leonid Utyosov in Lviv. Utyosov is a famous Soviet-era singer and comedic actor who was awarded the title of People's Artist of the U.S.S.R. in 1965.
A woman is surrounded by traditionally crafted fabrics in Lviv.
Ukrainians dance in downtown Kyiv.
Patron, a bomb-sniffing dog for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, poses dressed in a vyshyvanka. The Jack Russell terrier, whose name means "bullet" in Ukrainian, locates unexploded land mines and has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
A woman dressed in a vyshyvanka walks through Independence Square in Kyiv.
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