World War II commemoration in Torgau: Ukraine ambassador calls for “ban on participation” for Russia

Shortly before the World War II commemoration in Torgau in Saxony, the Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeieev asked to prevent Russia’s announced participation. He pointed out that in the night from Wednesday to Thursday at least twelve people were killed in a Russian major attack with rockets and drones on Kiev.

“Official representatives of the criminal regime responsible for this can only be countered in a way on the Elbe-with a load and ban on participation,” said Makeieev of the German Press Agency. “Otherwise you reward wars of attack and mock the peace ovan as a farce.”

The Russian ambassador Sergei Netschajew wants to take part in the celebrations in Torgau on the 80th anniversary of the meeting of American and Soviet soldiers on the destroyed Elbe Bridge on April 25, 1945. The city of Torgau as the organizer has signaled that it does not want to prevent the ambassador from doing so.

Kretschmer takes participation Netschajews “to the note”

The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), who will speak at the commemoration, only took the participation of the ambassador “to know” and pointed out that it was an event of the city of Torgau. The United States waived participation.

On April 25th, Torgau commemorates the so-called Elbe Day every year, where American and Soviet soldiers met on the destroyed Elbe bridge. The photo of the handshake of Torgau went as a symbol of the end of the Second World War and the liberation from the National Socialist tyranny around the world.

Makeieev: handcuffs instead of handshake for Russia

Makeieev said that Russia has now brutally brutally brutally brutally brutally brutified the peace. “The peace dust was killed by a Russian cruise mission. Russia does not deserve a handshake, but handcuffs.”

Netschajew rejects propaganda allegation

Already on Thursday evening, the Russian ambassador Netschajew rejected the accusation of “propaganda instrumentalization” of the commemorative events by Russia. It was always made clear that the memory of the Second World War, the decisive proportion of the Red Army in the destruction of Nazism and the colossal victims of the Soviet people do not depend on the current political agenda, twisted or kept silent, “said an explanation published on the website of the message.

Netschajew called the “exclusion of Russian and Belarusian representatives of the common memory” an instrumentalization. “The ideas for such measures are not enough for this.”

Foreign Office has recommended exclusion

The Federal Foreign Office recommended that the federal government, the federal states and memorials of the federal government were excluded. This was justified with the fear that Russia could “instrumentalize these events and to combine his attack war against Ukraine”.

Nevertheless, Netschajew took part in a memorial event on the Seelower heights east of Berlin last week. The greatest battle of the Second World War had taken place on German soil 80 years ago, in which 35,000 Soviet, 16,000 German and 2,000 Polish soldiers were killed.

However, the Bundestag followed the recommendation of the Federal Foreign Office and excluded the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus from the central commemoration on May 8 in the parliament.

Left politician against participation in Russia

The left-wing politician Wulf Gallert also spoke out against the participation of representatives of the Russian state in the German commemoration at the end of the war. “Anyone who wages a war of attack today and regardless of the civilian population should not take part in commemorative celebrations for peace on behalf of this state,” he told the dpa.

Nevertheless, not all Russian citizens should be unloaded, Gallert added. “In particular, Russian veterans and victims of the fascist attack war must be possible to take part in the memorial celebrations. We must not exclude those who once fought against Hitler or became victims of his war.”