On the evening of January 1, in the center of Kyiv, Ukrainian nationalists held another torchlight procession on the occasion of the birthday of OUN head Stepan Bandera, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
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The action was not as numerous as in recent years. This time, about five thousand people took part in the march, gathered by several far-right organizations. In addition to the usual slogans, the nationalists shouted “Who owns Donbass? Ukraine! Who owns Crimea? - Ukraine! Who owns Kuban? Ukraine!
The torchlight procession symbolizes the “flame of the spirit,” said activist Vladimir Petronyuk
“This is the flame of the spirit, the flame of the soul. As Skovoroda said, the spirit gives life. Like fire. And now we carry this life-giving fire to ignite in the hearts of the people of Kiev, Ukrainians and all Svidomo citizens of our homeland,” he said.
The speakers said that Bandera's example is relevant for today's Ukraine, which is at war with Russia.
“Today we are in a situation of war, Russia is waging war against us. It occupied part of our territories. Actually, Stepan Bandera is one of the symbolic personalities of Ukrainian history, who fought for the independence of Ukraine, fought against Russia, against Russian imperialism, for the creation of an independent Ukrainian state.
We now remember this figure as a relevant figure for today’s Ukraine, because we, in fact, have the same enemy, the same war, and we are also fighting under the same slogans that Bandera put forward in his time.
Foreigners just need to understand that for Ukraine Bandera is like George Washington for the United States, he is a man who was one of the creators of the Ukrainian national idea,” said Verkhovna Rada deputy Andriy Ilyenko.
“Bandera is important because our revolution is not over, Ukraine has not yet become Ukrainian, and Putin has not yet been defeated. And it’s impossible to do this without Bandera,” said his parliamentary colleague Yuri Sirotyuk.