2001 On its 10th anniversary of independence of 2001, Kyiv held its largest parade at the time. 173 pieces of equipment and 6,530 soldiers took part in the parade.
2003 The 2003 parade, marking the 12th anniversary of independence, included more than 5,000 soldiers from 16 battalions. The National Anthem was performed by a Ukrainian folk artist
Ivo Bobul. Also first time as official title performed the march «Kozatska slava» (). The parade did not include military equipment. The 2003 Commander was the Chief of the Kyiv Garrison Colonel-General
Petro Shulyak. Inspecting the parade was Defense Minister
Yevhen Marchuk.
2004 The 2004 parade did not use military equipment. 19 battalions of soldiers took part in the parade. Officers who participated in the parade received a commemorative badge in honor of the 23rd anniversary of independence. The parade was inspected by Defense Minister
Yevhen Marchuk. The commander of the parade was
Mukola Petruk.
2008 This parade was the first one since 2004 due to lack of funds for the parades. This parade celebrated the 17th anniversary of independence. Participating in the parade were 144 ground units, 22 aircraft, 8 helicopters, and over 3.5 thousand troops. 120 of the 1,500 participants were participants in the
Anti-Terrorist Operation in
Eastern Ukraine. Many denounced the parade as a waste of money and as an inappropriate event during the
War in Donbas. There was a moment of silence to remember the "
Heavenly Hundred" who died during the
Maidan Revolution of 2013 and 2014.
2015 The parade went without the participation of military vehicles. In
President Poroshenko's speech he mentioned the
Battle of Ilovaisk and promised to not forgive those responsible. At the same time, he called the
Minsk II protocol "uncontested". There were 2,300 soldiers participating in the parade. Fourteen units carried battle flags of honor with the combat banner "For courage and bravery".
2016 2016 celebrated the 25th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. The parade involved more than 4,000 soldiers of the Armed Forces, and over 200 pieces of military equipment. The parade commander was Lt. General
Serhiy Popko. The soldiers paraded in the new model uniforms which incorporate details from the uniforms worn by the
Ukrainian People's Army. Participants of parade honored the dead Ukrainian heroes. A minute of silence was accompanied by the folk song . The celebrations were attended by the
President of Poland Andrzej Duda. Also participating in the parade was the
Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Brigade. Many changes took place in the musical accompaniment, particularly when the German made
Unter dem Siegesbanner by
Franz von Blon accompanied the march of the foreign delegation, as well as when the traditional
Red Cranberry & For Ukraine was replaced by the theme from
Ukraine (by
Taras Petrynenko) as the presidential fanfare.The opening inspection of troops was also accompanied by a new piece of music which was adapted to fit a military march, ''Zporiz'kyy March'' by
Mykola Lysenko.
2017 In 2017, the parade celebrated the 26th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. 4,500 troops participated in the parade, along with 9 formations from
NATO allied countries The Secretary of Defense of the United States, and the Defense ministers of Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Montenegro, Estonia, and the United Kingdom attended the ceremony. Also there was a military equipment exhibition on Mikhaylivska Square. • For the first time in the parade the colour of the 3rd Iron Rifle Division of the
Ukrainian People's Army (of the
Ukrainian People's Republic) - one of the most famous combat units of the times of the
Ukrainian War of Independence (1917–21) was officially displayed. • For the first time in the parade the colour of the 1st Ukrainian regiment of the
Bohdan Khmelnitsky which was formed in Kyiv in May 1917, who fought in the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic also was paraded. • Military units were officially given names of historical figures: •
72nd Mechanized Brigade received the name of the military formation of the Ukrainian People's Republic Army — , •
24th Mechanized Brigade received the name of
King Danylo. Also, two other units were given honorary titles:
Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky, under whose leadership the Cossacks defeated the
Tsardom of Russia army
near Konotop in 1659.
2018 The 2018 parade took place on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, as well as the centennial anniversary of the founding of the
Ukrainian People's Republic. The parade was expected to demonstrate more than 200 new models military hardware in the mobile column. The Ukrainian military included a battalion of 120 female military personnel in the parade for the first time since its inception. The unit comprised cadets from the
Taras Shevchenko National University Military Institute and the
Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technologies. Their appearance as they marched along
Khreshchatyk was greeted with loud applause from the spectators. The parade was also the first to use "
Glory to Ukraine" and "
Glory to the Heroes" as the official greeting of the parade formations. Also, a number of Armed Forces units were granted unit honorifics honoring
Ukrainian War of Independence figures and battles and important Ukrainian military heroes.
2019 The Independence Day in 2019 was celebrated with two separate marches, one of which was unofficial. The new President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to hold a military parade, which provoked the disagreement of veteran and volunteer organizations, and already on July 10, the preparation of an alternative parade was announced. The active preparation for the alternative parade prompted the President to change his position and announce the preparation of official events called the "March of Dignity".
2021 marching along Khreshchatyk during the military parade dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Ukrainian independence, 24 August 2021 According to a 21 October 2020 decree by President Zelensky on
Independence Day 2021 a military parade was held on the occasion of the
30th anniversary of Ukrainian independence. The parade was considered to be, the words of defense minister
Andriy Taran, a break from the "Sovietness" of previous parades and a demonstration of the country's "commitment to NATO standards". As part of this, a new way to march was implemented, in which the servicemen have already raising the leg by five centimeters. The following foreign dignitaries attended the parade: •
Bartholomew I of Constantinople • Lithuanian president
Gitanas Nauseda • Moldovan president
Maia Sandu • Polish President
Andrzej Duda • Macedonian President
Stevo Pendarovski • Estonian President
Kersti Kaljulaid • Latvian President
Egils Levits • French Foreign Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian Many dignitaries attended in connection with the
Crimea Platform held the previous day, including representatives of 46 states. During the preceding ceremony, a theatrical performance referred to as "DNA" presented the
history of Ukraine from the
Kyivan Rus’ to modern Ukraine the Cossack era, literary Ukraine. At the outset, a 30 meter long
flag of Ukraine held by soldiers marched first in front a veterans contingent. Foreign participants in the march-past, fly-past, and a flotilla off the coast of Odesa included Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the National Guard of Ukraine and border guards contingents, canine units were used for the first time. It demonstrated the latest developments, including the
Vilkha multiple rocket launcher,
Neptune cruise missile,
Hrim-2 ballistic missile and other new and modernized defence equipment, as well as the Turkish UAV
Bayraktar TB2. The Ukrainian military also held a military parade on the
Dnieper River, outside the one on Khreshchatyk. ==Cancelled parade periods==