On May 8th, Ukraine and the world will commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazism and the end of World War II (WWII) in Europe. This is a very important date for Ukraine, whose people suffered a nationwide tragedy during WWII and played a major role in defeating Hitler.

Ukraine was one of the main theaters of WWII. The WWII frontline rolled through Ukraine twice, first from west to east and then from east to west. As a result, the Ukrainian people suffered tremendous loss of life and devastation.

For Ukraine, WWІІ began with Nazi Germany's attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, and bombing of Lviv and other Ukrainian cities by German military aircrafts. And from June 22, 1941, after the invasion of the USSR by German and its allies, the whole of Ukraine became the scene of fierce fighting.

During WWII, Ukraine lost approximately 8 million people, including 5 million civilians and 3 million soldiers.

Ukrainians fought in a variety of armies as part of the anti-Hitler coalition, including 6 million in the Red Army and hundreds of thousands in resistance movements and allied armies from Poland, the United States, Canada, and France.

We categorically reject Russian historical manipulations, attempts to downplay Ukraine's role, and claims that Russia has exclusive rights to victory over Nazism. 

No one country has the right to claim exclusive rights on the victory over Nazism, which was a result of great efforts by dozens of countries and hundreds of nations.  

Even more unacceptable are attempts to use the moral authority of a WWII victor to justify modern wars of aggression and atrocities. 

In 1939, Hitler's Third Reich and Stalin's USSR were twin totalitarian regimes. With concentration camps and inhuman ideologies that justify the extermination of millions of people.

Now Putin’s regime portrays its current war against Ukraine as a continuation of WWII. More than 3 years ago, the Russian Federation launched its illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, 2022, which became the expansion of Russian Federation’s armed aggression that has been ongoing since 19 February, 2014.

In Russia's parallel reality, Ukrainians are "Nazis," while Russians are "liberators."

Putin tries to use the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazism for propaganda purposes.

We urge all partners and international organizations to honor the memory of all WWII victims while also protecting and promoting the fact-based historical truth about that terrible war.

We urge everyone to avoid being used as a tool for Russian propaganda and the whitewashing of war crimes. 

Ukraine, along with other European nations, will commemorate on May 8 the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism. We will honor the achievements of all liberators, Ukrainians and others, who defeated Nazi evil. 

And we will make every effort to put an end to Russia's war on Ukraine, which is the most brutal aggression on European soil since WWII.