Day of Remembrance for Those Tortured or Killed in Captivity
Day of Remembrance for Those Tortured or Killed in Captivity is held on July 28. This event in the third decade of the month July is annual. 
Help us
Help us 
On July 28, 2025, Ukraine will observe its first Day of Remembrance for Those Tortured or Killed in Captivity, a day that has become a painful symbol of loss and indomitability.
What happened? On the night of July 28-29, 2022, in Yelenovka, in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces carried out a mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war — mainly defenders of Mariupol, including soldiers from the Azov Regiment. This crime shocked the world, becoming one of the darkest episodes of the war.
Official recognition On July 22, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 10188, establishing July 28 as a Day of National Remembrance for soldiers, volunteers, and civilians who were executed, tortured, or died in captivity.
The initiative was supported by the families of the victims, in particular the Spilnota Olenivky association, which has been fighting for truth and dignified remembrance since the very beginning.
A voice from the Azov regiment: “This day is our shared pain and our shared duty to remember. It is about those who died in Russian captivity and those who are still there,” wrote representatives of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov” on social media.
Why is this important?
Can we imagine how a person in captivity feels when their name is forgotten?
Can memory become a form of resistance?
This day is not just a date. It is a reminder that even in the darkest times, human dignity has power. And that memory is a weapon that cannot be defeated.
Similar holidays and events, festivals and interesting facts
National Remembrance Day in Papua New Guinea on July 23
Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval in Canada on July 28 (The Royal Proclamation of 2003 is a document issued in the name of Queen Elizabeth II acknowledging the Great Upheaval (or Great Expulsion or Grand Dérangement), Britain's expulsion of French-speaking Acadians from Nova Scotia, beginning in 1755.);
National Day of Remembrance of the Warsaw Uprising in Poland on August 1
Roma Holocaust Memorial Day on August 2 (Council of Europe, European Parliament);
Genocide Remembrance Day of the Roma and Sinti in Poland on August 2 (Dzień Pamięci o Zagładzie Romów i Sinti, set on the anniversary of the Roma and Sinti exterminaton at Auschwitz concentration camp, established in 2011);
European Holocaust Remembrance Day for Sinti and Roma on August 2
Assyrian Martyrs Day on August 7 (Assyrian community);
Battle of Boyacá Day in Colombia on August 7
Free Holiday Calendar widgets for websites