KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th May, 2021) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated on Sunday fellow citizens on the 76th anniversary of the victory in World War II, saying that Kiev will oppose attempts to downplay Ukrainians' contribution to the victory over Nazism.
The leader noted that it was a common victory, "where all countries and peoples who fought Nazism were important, without the prefix 'more' or 'less.'"
"And we will not allow anyone to minimize the contribution to the victory of Ukrainians who not only defended their land, but also as part of the Soviet army and allied forces of the Anti-Hitler coalition along with dozens of other nations did not allow the Nazis to rule in Vienna, Paris, Prague, Warsaw, Madrid, Budapest, Amsterdam, Brussels, Rome, Berlin and many other cities around the world," Zelenskyy said in a video address, as quoted by his press office.
The president went on to highlight the importance of the disappearance of Nazism as a philosophy, saying that the war was, among other things, about whose philosophy would win.
"What is victory over Nazism for us? This is involvement in a great cause for humanity. After all, this war was not about whose army would win. And about whose philosophy would win. And it is important not only that we have won, but also that Nazism has lost. Lost forever. With a prescription: to disappear from this world together with xenophobia, racism and inequality," Zelenskyy added.
At the same time, the president stated that the word "victory" should not be taken with euphoria and dizziness and the desire to repeat it could only relate to sports championships but not to the war that claimed at least 50 million lives.
In late April, some 100 people marched through the center of Kiev to mark the 78th anniversary of the notorious SS Division Galicia, a WWII Nazi infantry division composed predominantly of Ukrainian volunteers. Though the authorities condemned the rally, the opposition has repeatedly stated that Kiev is trying to erase from memory the feat of the Ukrainian people in the Great Patriotic War.
Following the Neo Nazi march in Kiev, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine's claims about having zero tolerance for Nazism do not correspond with the reality.
