On May 8, the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II (1939–1945), President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska honored the memory of the fallen by laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Kyiv.
According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the ceremony was also attended by Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and representatives of diplomatic missions in Ukraine.
Participants observed a minute of silence to honor the victims.
In a message on Telegram, Zelensky stated: “In attempting to appropriate Ukraine, Russia is appropriating another nation’s memory and distorting history. That is why not only today, on the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism, but always, it is worth remembering: Ukrainians made their great contribution to that victory. They stopped a global evil with their own blood.”
He recalled that over eight million Ukrainians fought against Nazism — not only as part of the Soviet army, but also in the Allied forces, resistance movements, and partisan units.
“In that war, we had no rear – all our land was one continuous frontline, a staging ground, an open wound. Every city, every village suffered. Every home and every family,” he said.
“And we will not surrender this memory to a new, Russian Nazism – just as we will not surrender our present to it. Victory and true remembrance are not with those who hold “parades” but with those on whose side the truth is. Let us honor our contribution to the fight against evil. And our present, in which we are fighting it once again,” the President stressed.
As previously reported, Ukraine marks May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II (1939–1945). In 2023, the Verkhovna Rada passed the law “On the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II 1939–1945,” officially designating May 8 as the sole date for commemorating the victory over Nazism and honoring those who died in the Second World War. A public holiday will also be observed on May 8, but only after martial law is lifted in Ukraine.
Photo: Office of the President
Source: President Zelensky lays flowers at Tomb of Unknown Soldier in Kyiv
