Translated with AI
Ukrainians reverently honor the memory of World War II, because Ukraine is one of the countries that suffered the most: it was completely occupied, and the front "rolled" across its territory twice, destroying everything in its path with the steamroller of war. The war touched absolutely every family.
The Second World War began for Ukraine on September 1, 1939, with the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland and the bombing of Lviv and other Ukrainian cities. And it was not limited to military actions and the occupation of territory – Ukrainians participated in operations in all military theaters. There were more than 6 million Ukrainians among the Red Army servicemen, and hundreds of thousands more from Ukraine fought in military units of other countries, and tens of thousands fought as part of partisan detachments and the underground.
In total, during the war, about 8 million people of different nationalities who inhabited Ukraine died, and about 2 million became disabled. During World War II, Ukrainians made a significant contribution to the victory over Nazism, distinguished themselves by heroism, bravery and self-sacrifice on all fronts.
During the evacuation to other republics, 550 enterprises, about 3.5 million qualified specialists, scientists and representatives of the creative intelligentsia were taken from Ukraine. This enormous economic and intellectual potential of the Ukrainian people also worked for victory. For many Ukrainians, the war did not end in May 1945 – from the Western Front they were transferred to the war with Hitler’s ally, Japan, and continued fighting until September – on September 2, 1945, Uman native General Kuzma Derevyanko accepted the unconditional surrender of Japan on behalf of the USSR. It is worth noting that it was not only the Nazi occupiers who brought disaster to the Ukrainian land (the front, the Holocaust, the execution of civilians, the burning of villages, deportations). Numerous crimes of the Soviet regime were hushed up for a long time – the execution of political prisoners in prisons in Western Ukraine in June-July 1941, the blowing up of the center of Kiev and the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station dam in 1941, the destruction of wounded Red Army soldiers in Odessa, thrown into the sea along with medical transport. Communist terror also manifested itself in the deportation of the Crimean Tatars and other peoples from Crimea, the mass artificial famine of 1946-1947, repressions, attempts to destroy the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Churches. In recognition of its contribution to the victory over Nazism, Ukraine became a co-founder of the United Nations. As a victim and one of the victors in World War II, Ukraine believes that no country can claim an exclusive role in the victory over Nazism. The victory is the result of the joint efforts of dozens of states and hundreds of peoples. And we, Ukrainians, are grateful to the allies of that time for their assistance with weapons, equipment and food, for their contribution to the end of World War II. As the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Tajikistan, I express my deep gratitude to the glorious Tajik people who fought shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainians on the fronts of World War II and took part in the liberation of Ukrainian land from the fascist occupiers. For us, the end of the bloodiest and most brutal war is not a holiday of "victory madness", but a day of mourning and honoring the memory of those who fell victim to it, those soldiers who gave their lives in the fight against Nazism, a day of unity of civilized people for whom life and freedom are the highest values, for whom Man comes first. We do not carry portraits of the "Immortal Regiment" on sticks, most of which then blasphemously end up in trash containers. We reject the cult of the "St. George's ribbon", which the Kremlin has today made a symbol of occupation and terror of Ukrainian citizens. Unfortunately, after the war, veterans and invalids in the victorious USSR lived in much worse conditions than in other European countries that had experienced war and occupation. This was due to total militarization, when the remainder of military spending and research was diverted to civilian needs and development – evidence that the Moscow regime was preparing for the next war. It is obvious that Putin's Russia has become the heir to the cult of war and with the slogan "we can do it again" has unleashed a new war in Europe – this time against Ukraine – hiding behind the false goals of "denazification" and "demilitarization", which hide the truth – the destruction of Ukrainian statehood and the restoration of the Russian-Soviet empire. And this truth tells us that the Kremlin's cannibalistic appetites will not be limited to Ukraine. But aggressors usually do not study history, but create its interpretation. Therefore, they do not know that they will lose. Today, Ukraine is supported by the world's leading economies and democracies, which are seeking to restore the disturbed balance of principles of international law and the inviolability of state borders in order to protect the world from a new global war. Together we defeated fascism – we will defeat racism too!
Valery Evdokimov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Tajikistan
