Today marks Ukraine's Military Journalist Day and World Whale Day: Celebrations on February 16th.
Today, on February 16, Ukraine celebrates the professional holiday of military journalists, press officers, and civilian journalists who report from the front lines, while also honoring the memory of their fallen colleagues, as reported by UNN.
This event was established by an order from the Minister of Defense of Ukraine in 2018.
It was on February 16, 2015, near the city of Debaltseve, that Captain 3rd Rank Dmitry Labutkin, the editor of the Ministry of Defense's "Breeze" television and radio studio, lost his life while performing a combat mission and fulfilling his professional duty. Until the last moments of his life, he continued filming events.
Since the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion, many civilian media workers have become military journalists and press officers.
Daily, risking their lives, they report from hot spots on the front, broadcasting on national television channels and radio stations to provide the people of Ukraine with timely information about repelling Russian aggression.
The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine reported on February 11 that the war has claimed the lives of 97 media workers.
Additionally, today, on the third Sunday of February, events are being held in many countries around the world in celebration of World Whale Day.
This event was established in 1980 in Hawaii. Its organizers aimed to draw society's and governments' attention to the need for implementing measures to restore the whale population on the planet, which has been significantly affected by whaling.
Whaling, which originated in Scandinavia in the 9th-10th centuries, began to rapidly develop in the 18th century. Whales were hunted for their baleen, blubber, brains, bones, and meat.
According to animal rights activists, in the 20th century, whalers killed up to three million of these mammals.
Since the mid-20th century, the global community has begun to implement measures to limit whaling, which has since been almost entirely banned. Limited whaling is still conducted only by Norway, Iceland, and Japan, as well as by some indigenous peoples as part of their traditional practices.
Scientists believe that at that time, the population of the Atlantic whale had dwindled to a critical 400 individuals, while the humpback whale population had dropped to 500 individuals.
Currently, scientists cannot specify the exact number of whales in the world's oceans. It is believed that their population fluctuates around 25,000 individuals.
February 16 is also a day in the church calendar dedicated to the memory of the holy martyrs Pamphilus, Porphyrius, and others.
Pamphilus, or Pamphilus of Caesarea (? - 309, Caesarea Palestine, Israel), was a Christian priest, founder of a biblical school, and one of the 12 holy martyrs who suffered in Caesarea Palestine in 308-309, and is recognized as a saint. He was executed by sword.