August 29 – Remembrance Day for defenders of Ukraine who died in the fight for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.
The struggle of the Ukrainian people for freedom has lasted for centuries. Our national memory keeps the remembrance of heroism and sacrifice on this hard, bloody path, which only at the end of the 20th century led to the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence and the creation of its own independent state.
Since 2014, the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, the sworn soldiers from the annexed Crimean Peninsula, participants in the antiterrorist operation and the Operation United Forces in Eastern Ukraine have become the epitome of Ukraine’s defenders. Today the Ukrainian Armed Forces shattered the myth of Russian army invincibility. The victories of Ukrainian warriors during the Russo-Ukrainian war gave the country new heroes-titans.
History is cyclical, and fighting the colonial state continues for centuries. Orsha, Konotop, Kruty, Vapniarka, Gurby, Savur-Mohyla, Donetsk airport, Debaltsevo, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Mykolaiv, Bakhmut – in these and hundreds of other fights Ukrainian fighters selflessly, not sparing themselves and destroying enemies, defended their native land from the same aggressor. Centuries go by, but the enemy of Ukraine is the same: Muscovy, the Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and the Russian Federation.
Today we honor our heroes. Those who are not with us, who died for our Motherland. We shall remember them as they were – brave, principled, courageous, steely, and loyal to their last breath. They have made their mark on our history by accomplishing the greatest feats of arms and not being afraid of death. Giving up their most precious possessions for the sake of peace and the peaceful life of others, they have covered themselves with eternal glory. And even after they have died, they give us encouragement to fight.
We will not forget the names of the fallen soldiers.
We need this day to remember that the best gave their lives for us and our cause of honor to bring the struggle to a victorious end.
Glory to Ukraine!
Glory to the Heroes!
Heroes do not die!
Honorary consul of the Republic of Moldova
Mykola Skrypkovskyi