Russia insults memory of those who died fighting against Nazism - Ukraine at OSCE

Russian society, infected with xenophobia and chauvinism, has turned the slogan “never again” into “we can repeat it”, insulting the memory of all who sacrificed their lives fighting Nazism.

This was stated by Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to international organizations in Vienna, Natalia Kostenko, who spoke at the OSCE Security Cooperation Forum on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Today, Ukraine, like many other countries in the world, commemorates victory over Nazism and pays tribute to the victims of World War II, the most brutal and devastating conflict humanity has ever endured. That war was one of the greatest tragedies ever to have afflicted the peoples of the world, causing enormous human suffering," the Ukrainian diplomat said at the beginning of her speech.

She added that, unfortunately, not all countries around the world have drawn the right conclusions from the bitter lessons of the past.

"Russian society, infected with xenophobia and chauvinism, has turned the slogan ‘never again’ into ‘we can repeat it’, thereby insulting the memory of all who sacrificed their lives for a better future. Fanatically supported by his obedient and blindly loyal citizens, Russia's self-proclaimed leader, Vladimir Putin, whose another so-called ‘inauguration’ took place yesterday, declared the entire democratic world hostile and launched a war of aggression against Ukraine," Kostenko said.

The deputy head of the Ukrainian mission to the OSCE pointed out that for more than two years, the Russian side has been regularly reporting its so-called "military successes" in Ukraine, claiming that "all the goals of the special military operation will be achieved." "Every day, millions of Ukrainians live under the constant threat of missile, air, and artillery attacks simply because Russian criminal regime in the Kremlin denies the existence of Ukraine as a free and independent state," she stressed.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky in an address on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War, said that Ukrainians, who fought against Nazism 80 years ago, are again fighting off the evil that has been revived.