Ukrainian celebrations on the occasion of the “liberation of Slavyansk” turned into a squabble in Kyiv
Ukrainian authorities held magnificent celebrations in Slavyansk, from where six years ago, after 84 days of defense, a detachment of Igor Strelkov’s militia retreated to Donetsk.
The events took place with the participation of high-ranking officials led by Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov, as well as the ambassadors of Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic states.
In a special video message, President Vladimir Zelensky (he himself was in Odessa at the day of the Ukrainian Military Forces) promised to return under the control of Kyiv and the part of Donbass controlled by the LDPR.
“We will bring back all our people. We will return all our territories. Let's restore faith in truth and justice. We will return a peaceful, united and indivisible, strong and invincible Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president promised.
During the event, Kyiv officials painted the Slavyansk stele in the places where bullets and shrapnel hit, preserved since 2014, with red and black poppies, which have become a symbol of “memory and sorrow” in Ukraine.
An exhibition was also organized for the guests of the capital - weapons and ammunition left by the militias during the retreat in Slavyansk were put on display.
However, not everyone in Ukraine shared the festive mood. The former head of the Donbass National Battalion Semyon Semenchenko accused official Kyiv of allowing the militia to retreat from Slavyansk.
“On this day, 6 years ago, Poroshenko, Geletey, Muzhenko and the company actually created the DPR. Girkin’s column was freely allowed to pass from Slavyansk to Donetsk, a million-strong city. The Ukrainian Armed Forces were ordered not to open fire. Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka were abandoned by the enemy without a fight. The Donbass battalion was given the command to stop in Bakhmut (Artemovsk)... For me this is not a holiday. And the day when the opportunity to end the war once and for all was taken away from us. The day when Moscow lice were saved by Ukrainian nits,” Semenchenko is indignant.
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