Volunteers have been playing a significant part, standing for Ukraine in the ongoing Donbas conflict

Ukraine marks the Volunteer Day, honoring the warriors who joined the Ukrainian military on will and defended the country in conditions of the ongoing Russian military aggression.

The Parliament passed the respective document in January 2017; under the decree, the Volunteer Day is marked annually on March 14.

The volunteer battalions are military, police and paramilitary formations that were formed from volunteers in response to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in spring and summer 2014. Most of the formations were formed by government agencies, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs; some of the units are independent.

In January 2017, Ukraine's Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak stated that 40 thousand volunteers were fighting for Ukraine in the Donbas conflict.