The Ukrainian flag consists of two horizontal stripes: blue on top, yellow on the bottom. Both colors carry deep historical and symbolic meanings.

  • Blue represents the clear sky, peace, and spirituality. It is also linked to the Dnipro River—an iconic feature of Ukraine’s landscape and a national symbol.

  • Yellow stands for the golden wheat fields that symbolize fertility and abundance, the reward of the Ukrainian people’s hard work.

Together, the colors evoke an image of boundless sky above a bountiful field—an emblem of harmony and prosperity.

Historical roots

The pairing of blue and yellow dates back centuries:

  • Heraldry (13th century). The first known use appears in Ukrainian heraldry—on the coats of arms of Lviv and the medieval Galician-Volhynian State (Kingdom of Rus), where a golden lion is set against a blue field, signifying strength, nobility, and loyalty.

  • Cossack era (17th–18th centuries). Cossack banners often showed yellow stars, moons, crosses, or weapons painted on sky-blue cloth.

  • Revolution of 1848. The blue-and-yellow flag was raised over Lviv City Hall for the first time as a national symbol.

  • War of Independence 1917–1921. It became the official flag of the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

Everyday culture

Blue and yellow were common in daily life—embroidery, clothing, ceramics, church and secular art, and icons—where they long symbolized the spiritual and the earthly, heaven and harvest, purity and plenty. Their widespread cultural presence made them a natural choice for the national banner.

Suppression and revival

Under the Soviet Union, using or even possessing the blue-and-yellow flag was a crime. Ukrainians nevertheless kept its memory alive: women stitched miniature flags or tridents into shirts and towels, hiding the motifs among other embroidered patterns.

Modern status

After Ukraine declared independence in 1991, the blue-and-yellow flag was officially adopted as the state flag. Ukraine celebrates State Flag Day every year on 23 August.