Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II

On 8 May, Ukraine marks the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II, 1939–1945.

It is a day of quiet remembrance of millions of broken lives, of people who went through the hell of war and lost their loved ones, their homes and their future. It is a day of gratitude to all who fought against Nazism and defended humanity and freedom at the cost of their own lives.

Ukraine paid a terrible price for World War II. Our cities were destroyed, our land became a battlefield, and millions of Ukrainians became victims of two totalitarian regimes that devalued human life and sought to subjugate nations through fear and violence.

We remember that war is never "greatness" or "romance". War is pain, ruins, orphans, mass graves and generations of people who never recovered from what they lived through.

And today these words are not only about the past for Ukrainians. Ukraine is once again fighting an evil that has come with imperial cruelty, hatred and the desire to destroy our state and our identity.

After Nazism and communism, the world is once again facing an aggressive ideology – ruscism. The world has seen what the impunity of the aggressor, the cult of war and contempt for human life lead to.

Today Ukrainians are fighting not only for themselves. We are fighting for the right of nations to be free, for peace in Europe, for a future without terror and occupation.

We remember those who died then.
We honour those who are fighting now.
And we believe: evil will always be defeated.