Ukraine Condemns May 9 Parade as War Crime Whitewashing

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has called on all foreign states to refrain from sending their military to the parade in Moscow on May 9.

That’s according to a statement released by Ukraine’s diplomacy on Tuesday, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

"The participation of foreign military personnel in this event is unacceptable and will be regarded by Ukraine as an insult to the memory of the victory over Nazism, the memory of millions of Ukrainian front-line soldiers who liberated our country and all of Europe from Nazism eight decades ago," the Foreign Ministry warned.

Diplomats noted that Ukraine cherishes the memory of World War II, the front of which swept across the country’s entire territory twice, while the total human losses of the Ukrainian nation amounted to eight million dead: 5 million civilians and 3 million soldiers.

"Over 6 million Ukrainians fought in the ranks of the Red Army, hundreds of thousands - as part of the resistance movements and allied armies of the anti-Hitler coalition. Today, a cruel and unprovoked war of aggression is being waged against the Ukrainian people, which is one of the victorious nations over Nazism that paid a terrible price for peace and freedom in Europe... The Russian army has been committing atrocities in Ukraine, the scale of which Europe has not seen since World War II. It is this army that will march in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9," the Foreign Ministry emphasized.

The Foreign Ministry noted that these soldiers are not liberators of Europe, they are invaders and war criminals.

“Marching along their side would imply sharing responsibility for the blood of murdered Ukrainian children, civilians, and soldiers, not celebrating the victory over Nazism,” the statement emphasizes.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Russia is inviting foreign servicemen to participate in the May 9 parade in order to whitewash its war crimes and justify aggression.

“We call on all foreign states to refrain from the participation of their servicemen in the parade in Moscow on May 9. This especially applies to countries that declare neutrality in their attitude to Russian aggression against Ukraine or consistently take a neutral stance in international relations. The participation of the military from such countries in a joint parade would directly violate such declared neutrality and look like support for the aggressor state," the foreign ministry noted.

As reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he does not rule out Russia organizing provocations during the May 9 parade for political dividends.