On February 22, on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day, the first events in the framework of the Year of the Great Victory were launched in the Republic. According to the correspondent of the Official Website of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin spoke at the opening of a grand meeting dedicated to this event, which was hosted by the Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after A.B. Solovyanenko.

“Dear fellow countrymen, dear veterans, military! I congratulate you on the upcoming Defender of the Fatherland Day!

On this day, one cannot but recall the nationwide feat that the Soviet people performed, liberating the world from German Nazism. We grew up on the truth about the Great Patriotic War. It was told about in every family. We knew the names of many heroes who fought fought till the very last breath and gave their lives for our land. For each of us, the triumph of the Soviet soldier is sacred. Always have, always will. We honour the memory of the heroic past of the People Liberator and must bend every effort so that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren remember these lessons from history.

The people of Donbass have actually proved their adherence to truth and sacred duty when, in 2014, they rose up against attempts to subvert our core values ​​and life guidelines. We neither broke or fled. It has become possible to survive and build the Republic in the recent years thanks to the traditions of courage and heroism, thanks to the eternal example of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War,” Denis Pushilin said.

Further on, the Head of State addressed veterans of the Great Patriotic War.

“Dear veterans!

We are immensely grateful for your feat, for the path that each of you has made. I bow to you for your endless devotion to the Motherland, for the fact that our desire to be worthy of your exploits is growing every year!” Denis Pushilin emphasized.

On behalf of the Head of the Republic, bouquets of flowers were presented to the veterans present in the hall as a sign of gratitude.

“This year, along with millions of people around the world, we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Victory over the Nazi invaders. And the further in time we move away from that event, the more often we need to recall the memory of it. So that the enemies have no single chance to subvert the feat of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War.

The year 2020 is declared the Year of the Great Victory in the Donetsk People’s Republic!

We honour history and will not allow it to be distorted. And we will always be worthy of the feat of the People Liberator. Happy holiday!” Denis Pushilin opened the Year of the Great Victory in the DPR.

As will be recalled, by Decree of the Head of the DPR No. 380, in order to preserve historical memory and commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, 2020 was declared the Year of the Great Victory in the Donetsk People’s Republic.