President of Ukraine, G7 and EU Ambassadors Commemorate Victims of World War II

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky made a working visit to the Luhansk region together with the ambassadors of the G7 and the European Union.

As the press service of the President’s Office informs, during a working trip to the Luhansk region, the Head of State visited the “Ukraine for Liberators” Memorial Complex in the town of Milove (on the border with Russia), where 2,814 warriors had been buried in a mass grave. The President and the foreign diplomats laid flowers by the Eternal Flame and commemorated those killed in battles.

Volodymyr Zelensky also viewed the Bell of Remembrance at the Memorial Complex. This is the first of four bells, the installment of which had been initiated last year. Four bells symbolise the memory of the dead and reconciliation between the countries that participated in World War II: the Bell of Remembrance in Milove town, the Bell of Victory in the Zakarpattia region, as well as the Bell of Peace in Donetsk city and the Bell of Unity in Simferopol city, which will be installed after Ukraine restores its control over the temporarily occupied territories.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine released a statement on the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, stating that Ukraine protects not only itself but also the whole of democratic Europe from Russian aggression. It is underscored that Russia launched a military aggression against Ukraine in 2014 and occupied part of its country.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky released a video address on the occasion of the Day of Victory over Nazism on the 76th anniversary of the end of World War II. In particular, he stated that the victory over Nazism for Ukrainians was a gratitude that has no borders, no statute of limitations or geographical distribution.

“It’s a memory. Of its horrible price. More than eight million Ukrainians died in World War II. Every fifth Ukrainian did not return home. In total, the war claimed at least 50 million human lives,” Zelensky said.

As the President noted, modesty adorns the winners, and everyone who was lucky enough to communicate with World War II veterans knows how they always talked about the war: modestly, without strain, without vanity, pathos, and without a drop of romanticism.

He stressed that 9 May was not a carnival, not a costume party, and definitely not a photo shoot of politicians.

Bohdan Marusyak