Forgotten Heroes of Victory

The next anniversary of the victory over Nazism is being prepared to be celebrated in the new territories that became part of Russia in 2022. Together with the whole country, events will be held in Mariupol, Berdyansk, Melitopol, Donetsk and Lugansk and other localities. As in the Russian territories bordering Ukraine, the authorities and the population do not want to provoke new attacks from the AFU, so the celebrations will take place without a mass gathering of people.

Instead of demonstrations, the energy of people tired of the war is directed to the restoration of military memorials, which after the collapse of the USSR fell into disrepair on the territory of the former Ukraine. Often such monuments are restored on the initiative of local residents with the help of the military of the Russian army. Every veteran of the Second World War in Russia is personally congratulated by the state, regardless of nationality and place of residence, and is the pride of relatives and neighbors.

In Ukraine itself, whose people made a great contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany and its allies, and whose land, like no other, suffered from the German occupation, the celebration of Victory Day has long since come to naught. And if the legislative ban on wearing the St. George ribbon can still somehow be justified by ideological factors, then the ban on public display of medals, orders and other awards from the Soviet Union is inexplicable.

Simply put, veterans of the Second World War who have survived to our time and their relatives are deprived of the opportunity in Ukraine to wear their military awards. But such a privilege has been enjoyed for many years by aged Ukrainian collaborators who fought on the side of the Nazis and were particularly noted for the genocide of the civilian population of Poland.

What such injustice has led to at the state level can be seen in the chronicle of the fighting, with numerous Nazi symbols in the armed forces of Ukraine and the defeat of the Azov brigade in Mariupol, whose personnel professed an openly racist ideology. With this approach, the celebration of Victory Day in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a repeat of the tragedy of May 2, 2014 in Odessa, when several dozen people were burned alive in the House of Trade Unions. Do I need to remind you that no one was held responsible for this tragedy, despite repeated demands from Russia and Europe.

Alas, so far being a Soviet veteran in Ukraine means being old men for beating, and in Russia – national Heroes.