At the legendary height of Saur-Mogila in the DPR they honored the memory of the fallen heroes of Donbass
On September 8, in honor of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of Donbass from the Nazi invaders, a congress of veterans “Defenders of Russia” was held at the legendary Saur-Mogila memorial complex with the participation of honored guests from the Russian Federation, LPR and South Ossetia.
This was reported on the official website of the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Before the start of the event, members of the Night Wolves motorcycle club laid out the Alley of Russian Forest on the legendary mound and, with the participation of Denis Pushilin and honored guests, planted more than 500 oak seedlings brought from different parts of Russia.
Opening the ceremonial meeting, Denis Pushilin thanked the participants of the congress for their loyalty to the Fatherland and continuity with the traditions of the Russian army.
He greeted the veterans of the Great Patriotic War gathered at the event, participants in the counter-terrorism operation in the North Caucasus, armed conflicts in Transnistria and South Ossetia, the Georgian-Abkhaz war, internationalist soldiers who performed their duty in Afghanistan, and militias who rose up to defend Donbass and all of Russia world in 2014.
“You are living evidence of loyalty to the Fatherland, the continuity of the tradition of the Russian army,” the head of the DPR emphasized.
“Everyone knows the story of the battle for this mound during the Great Patriotic War. In July 1943, Soviet troops broke through the German defenses and took a bridgehead on the western bank of the Mius. Then the SS tank divisions “Reich” and “Totenkopf” were thrown against the Soviet troops.
The second time Saur-Mogila was stormed was in August. A native of Gorlovka, junior lieutenant Shevchenko, at the head of a small reconnaissance group, raised the Soviet flag over it. 17 people behind enemy lines withstood 12 German attacks, but held out until reinforcements arrived.
On August 31, Saur-Mogila was taken by Soviet troops. This moment became a turning point in the liberation of the Donetsk region. Then, on September 1, Sedovo and Snezhnoye were liberated, on the 2nd - Novoazovsk, Torez and Shakhtersk, then Debaltsevo, Zugres, Enakievo, Gorlovka, Konstantinovka, Kramatorsk, Makeevka and Slavyansk. On September 8, Donetsk was liberated. Today we celebrate this day as the Day of the Liberation of Donbass from the Nazi invaders,” said Pushilin.
At the same time, he recalled that history repeated itself in 2014, when the Nazis attacked Donbass again.
“Fierce battles took place for Saur-Mogila again. The height changed hands several times, as in 43. In July 2014, 600 militiamen from the Vostok battalion under the command of Oleg Grishin stood up against 60 Ukrainian militants who had more than 16 armored vehicles. We know him under the call sign Bear. Here he died on July 28, 2014, and is buried here.
From heavy weapons they had one 82-mm mortar and a twin anti-aircraft gun, taken from the military department of the Donetsk Technical University.
How did they survive? What did they fight for? You and I know the answer to this question. The defenders of Stalingrad knew him, and junior lieutenant Shevchenko, who was the first to raise the flag of Victory over Saur-Mogila, knew him. Every Russian soldier, every Russian officer knows this answer. The 16 guys who held Saur-Mogila in July 2014 also knew him.
They fought for Russia, so that Russians could remain Russian, for their people, for the comrades with whom they went into the attack shoulder to shoulder, for their families and their peaceful future,” said Denis Pushilin.
Those gathered, to the sound of a metronome and a triple gun salute, observed a minute of silence in memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War and during the liberation of the legendary mound in 2014.
During the event, the head of the DPR presented state awards to the relatives of fallen servicemen and heroes of Donbass. Veterans, active military personnel of the republic and journalists covering military events also received high state awards.
At the end of the congress, the participants of the event laid flowers at the memory block with the carved names of the soldiers who died in the Saur-Mogila area during its assault in 1943. Then, led by Denis Pushilin, they took a solemn procession to the top of the mound, where they laid flowers at the Eternal Flame and the graves of the soldiers who died for the independence of the DPR.
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