JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky moved the celebration of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II to May 8, aligning with Western countries, while Russia condemned it as a betrayal and called it Victory Day.
Speaking to Ukrainians on a hill overlooking Kyiv, President Zelensky said the "old crime" had returned, this time it was launched by a "modern Russia" pursuing the same goal as the Nazis, namely "slavery and destruction", but it would not work.
President Zelensky said he had submitted a bill to parliament formally making May 8 a day of Ukraine's commemoration and victory, while May 9 would be European Day. He wants Ukraine one day, after the war, to join the European Union.
"We restore the honest history of our country without the influence of ideology. On May 8, most countries in the world remember the greatness of victory over the Nazis," he said in a video posted on the president's Telegram channel.
It is known that the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany took effect on May 8, 1945, while at the same time Moscow had entered May 9.
Russia marks the May 9, an important national event, with a massive military parade and a memorial of the great sacrifice made by the Soviet Union at the time, which lost about 27 million of its citizens to defeat Nazi Germany.
Meanwhile, Ukraine first moved the memorial to May 8 in 2015, accusing Russia, which has annexed Crimea and sparked insurgency in its east of the previous year, of using the warning to ignite Russia's nationalism.
However, at that time Kyiv did not formalize the change, for fear it would trigger internal divisions.
"Today, I signed a relevant cable, and every year starting tomorrow, May 9, we will commemorate our historic unity - the union of all Europeans who destroy Nazism and will defeat 'rationalism'," President Zelensky said, using the words made by Ukrainians to describe what they call Russian fascism.
In response to this, the Kremlin said May 9 would remain sacred to many people in Ukraine.
"There are also veterans there who took part in the Great Patriotic War, and their relatives, who today will remain holy," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the change.
Meanwhile, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova went further, criticizing this as a betrayal.
"What's worse than an enemy? A traitor. It was Zelenskiy, the embodiment of assembly in the 21st century... An accomplice to fascists 80 years later," Zakharova said, adding President Zelensky had betrayed the memories of the Ukrainians who died while fighting the Nazis.
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