May 27 is celebrated as the Day of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Day of Emergency Medical Assistance, the International Marketing Day and the Birthday of Scotch Tape. On this day, architectural symbols appeared in different centuries, new technologies were born and decisions were made that influenced politics and culture. They left a noticeable mark on world history.
Day of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
This is a professional holiday for soldiers who perform the most difficult tasks as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On May 26, 2025, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 346/2025, which established a new date for the celebration of the Day of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – May 27.
The choice of this day is associated with the events of May 27, 2014, when Ukrainian special forces, together with other units of the defense forces, carried out an operation to liberate the new terminal of Donetsk Airport. After the battle, the flag of Ukraine was raised above the terminal, and the operation itself became one of the important episodes of the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Interesting facts
The Special Operations Forces are the youngest and most modern component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they are the military elite of the state.
Before the creation of a separate branch of forces, Ukrainian special forces operated as part of various military units, and the experience of the first battles in 2014 became the basis for the future SSO system.
The first commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2016 was Igor Lunyov, who previously served in the airborne troops.
The structure of the SSO includes not only special operations combat units, but also the Resistance Movement and psychological operations units.
During the operation at the Donetsk airport on May 27, 2014, the Ukrainian military was able to quickly regain control over the new terminal, which had previously been captured by pro-Russian militants.
The new terminal at Donetsk Airport was one of the first places where Ukrainian special forces openly demonstrated their ability to act quickly, coherently, and in a complex urban environment.
The symbol of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a silver walking wolf, girded with a golden belt-nauz, placed on a wreath with a two-toothed falcon. It comes from the ancient military tradition of Prince Svyatoslav the Brave, who warned the enemy before a campaign.
The official motto that accompanies this sign and the soldiers of the SSO is: “I’m coming for you!”.
Emergency Medical Assistance Day
This day is celebrated to remind us of the work of doctors who are the first to receive patients in critical conditions. This field includes emergency medicine doctors, paramedics, nurses, dispatchers, resuscitators and teams that work with injuries, heart attacks, strokes, poisonings, bleeding and other conditions where decisions need to be made in minutes.
Today’s day was initiated by the European Society of Emergency Medicine, and May 27 was chosen because of the founding of this professional organization in London in 1994. For Ukraine, the topic of emergency care is particularly close because of the war, mass shelling, evacuation of the wounded and the daily work of doctors in front-line communities, where ambulances often operate in conditions of danger, lack of time and limited resources.
Interesting facts
The first organized ambulance services in Europe appeared after major urban disasters, when it became clear that the wounded needed not just to be transported, but to be saved before arriving at the hospital.
In Vienna, the ambulance service was established after a fire in the Ringtheater in 1881, which killed hundreds of people. This tragedy was the impetus for the creation of one of the first organized emergency care systems.
The number “103” for calling an ambulance has been well-known in Ukraine since the Soviet system, but after the introduction of a single emergency number “112”, it continues to operate as a special medical channel.
In modern emergency medicine, not only the speed of arrival is considered important, but also the correct actions in the first minutes: stopping bleeding, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and early recognition of a stroke can decide the fate of the patient even before the hospital.
During the full-scale war, Ukrainian emergency medical teams repeatedly worked under fire, traveled to the sites of missile strikes and evacuated people from areas where the risk of a second attack remained very high.
The defibrillator that can be seen today in airports, shopping malls and train stations is designed for use not only by doctors: many models themselves give voice prompts and help a person without a medical education to act until the ambulance arrives.
In many countries, an ambulance dispatcher does not just take a call, but guides a person by phone: explains how to perform CPR, how to stop bleeding or how to safely lay the victim until the brigade arrives.
International Marketing Day
This holiday emphasizes the important role of marketing in the interaction of business with consumers and its impact on social processes. Marketing helps companies understand people’s needs, create understandable offers, build trust in brands and explain the value of products, services or ideas.
This day is also associated with the birthday of Philip Kotler, who is often called the “father of modern marketing”. His works have influenced how consumer behavior, brand positioning, market segmentation and social marketing are explained in the world. Thanks to these approaches, marketing began to be considered not only as advertising, but as a system of studying needs, planning, communication and long-term relationships with people.
Interesting facts
Philip Kotler was born on May 27, 1931 in Chicago to a family of Ukrainian emigrants who came from the territory of modern Ukraine.
His textbook “Marketing Management” became one of the most famous educational publications in the field of marketing and was used for decades in universities and business schools in different countries.
One of Kotler’s important ideas was that marketing is needed not only by companies, but also by cities, states, museums, hospitals, universities and public organizations.
The concept of social marketing became widespread thanks to the works of Kotler and his colleagues: this approach is used to promote donation, vaccination, road safety, environmental behavior and other socially important topics.
The first advertisements, similar to modern marketing messages, existed in ancient cities: artisans and merchants used wall inscriptions, signs and symbols so that buyers could recognize their goods.
In the 20th century, marketing changed dramatically with the advent of television, as brands for the first time had the opportunity to simultaneously address millions of people through images, sounds and repeated messages.
Modern marketing is increasingly data-driven: companies analyze consumer behavior, search queries, views, reviews and repeat purchases to better understand the real needs of their audience.
The Birthday of Scotch Tape
May 27 is considered the Birthday of Scotch Tape – an adhesive tape that has become a common thing in everyday life, offices, production and repair. It is used for packaging, temporary fastening, insulation, surface protection and hundreds of small everyday tasks. The invention of adhesive tape is attributed to American Richard Drew, who worked for 3M and was involved in the creation of new materials.
Richard Drew created the first version of the tape in 1925 for car painters who needed a material for accurately painting car bodies in two colors. Over time, the technology was improved, and adhesive tape became a mass product. Later, transparent tape appeared, which quickly gained popularity during the Great Depression in the United States, when people tried to repair things instead of buying new ones.
Interesting facts
In the 1920s, Richard Drew worked for the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing company, known as 3M. While visiting car repair shops, he noticed that the craftsmen had a problem with two-tone painting of cars: to separate the colors, they used paper and medical plaster, but when removed, they often damaged the fresh paint.
Drew decided to create a more convenient tape for painters. The first version had glue only on the edges, so during testing the tape did not hold well and curled up. It was then that the craftsmen joked that it should be returned to the “Scottish” bosses so that they would not spare the glue on the entire surface.
The name “scotch tape” appeared precisely because of the painters’ joking remark, because the word “scotch” at that time in American slang meant thrift.
After further development, on May 27, 1930, transparent cellophane tape with rubber-based glue appeared. The word “scotch” was initially a joking name associated with the supposed thriftiness, but over time it became attached to the adhesive tape and became well-known.
Clear tape began to be used extensively in the 1930s, not only for packaging, but also for repairing books, banknotes, documents, children’s toys, and even cracked windows.
During World War II, adhesive tapes became an important part of military equipment: they were used to seal boxes with ammunition, repair equipment, and secure equipment.
3M did not initially plan to make tape one of the main products, but demand grew so quickly that the tape became one of the brand’s most famous products in the world.
There are special types of tape for aviation, electronics, medicine, and space technology. Some tapes can withstand extreme temperatures, moisture, and high pressure.
In everyday life, the word “scotch” has become so familiar that in many countries it is used to refer to almost any adhesive tape, although it was originally the trade name of a specific product.
Adhesive tapes were even used during NASA space missions, as they helped to quickly fix objects and temporarily eliminate technical problems in zero gravity.
Historical events on this day
1753 – The construction of St. Andrew’s Church was completed in Kyiv, which became one of the most famous monuments of Ukrainian Baroque. The temple was built on St. Andrew’s Hill according to the design of the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, and its silhouette later became one of the most recognizable in the old part of the city.
1821 – An astronomical observatory was founded in Mykolaiv, which was of great importance for navigation, cartography, and accurate timekeeping. Its work was especially important for the Black Sea Fleet, because navigation at that time depended largely on astronomical observations.
1895 – English inventor Birt Acres patented a motion picture projector, which became part of the early history of cinema. His technical developments helped transform moving images from a laboratory experiment into a spectacle for the general public.
1900 – The parliamentary elections in Belgium were the first in the world to test a system of proportional representation. This approach made it possible to more accurately reflect the support of different political forces and became an important stage in the development of modern electoral systems.
1916 – US President Woodrow Wilson called for the creation of the League of Nations after the end of World War I. His idea was aimed at forming an international mechanism that would prevent new major wars through diplomacy and collective security.
1921 – Afghanistan declared its independence after a long confrontation with the British Empire. This decision solidified the country’s desire to independently determine its foreign policy and became an important stage in its modern history.
1926 – A monument to Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, heroes of Mark Twain’s works, was erected in the state of Missouri. The sculpture became a symbol of the writer’s literary legacy and a reminder of the small-town America that he described in his most famous books.
1933 – Walt Disney’s cartoon “The Three Little Pigs” premiered. The film quickly became popular, and the song from the cartoon acquired a special sound during the Great Depression, when viewers perceived it as a story of endurance and hope.
1937 – The Golden Gate Bridge was inaugurated in San Francisco. At the time of its opening, it was one of the most outstanding engineering projects in the world, and later became the main symbol of the city.
1944 – The premiere of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “No Exit” took place in Paris. It is from this work that the famous phrase that “hell is other people” comes, which has become one of the most frequently quoted statements in European philosophical drama.
1950 – Frank Sinatra first appeared on television on the NBC channel. He performed with comedian Bob Hope, and the television debut itself was an important step in the transition of popular singers and actors to a new era of mass television broadcasting.
1973 – The USSR joined the Universal Copyright Convention, adopted in Geneva in 1952. This was important for the international use of literary, musical and scientific works, although the Soviet system of control over culture remained strict.
1993 – An amendment to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation came into force, which abolished the criminal punishment for voluntary homosexual relations between adults. This decision was part of the legal changes after the collapse of the USSR.
2002 – Musician Alan Parker received a knighthood and the right to add the prefix “sir” to his name. The honor was a recognition of his contribution to British culture and music.
2009 – The Institute of Aeronautics was created on the basis of the National Aviation University. Its activities were associated with the training of specialists for air traffic control, aviation safety and modern navigation systems.
2015 – Swiss and US prosecutors arrested senior FIFA officials in a case of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering. The scandal covered decades of football officials and became one of the most high-profile investigations in the history of world sports.
