Dear residents of the Donetsk People’s Republic, dear countrymen!

Today is our main national holiday, Victory Day. Millions of people all over the world are celebrating it together with us, all those who honor the feat of the Soviet warriors-liberators. Our army 75 years ago achieved the greatest triumph in confronting the Nazi death machine.

Donbass was given a special role in Hitler’s plans. An important industrial center of the Soviet Union with a powerful fuel and energy base was considered one of the main goals in the strategy of the German aggressors to defeat the Soviet economy.

In a sincere united impulse, our compatriots from the first days of the war stood up to defend the Homeland. 456 thousand residents of the former Donetsk region were veterans of combat operations during the Great Patriotic War, 275 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Raging bloody battles were fought for the liberation of our land, and it was thanks to the unity, selflessness and heroism of the people of the Big Country that the all-union stokehold was defended!

Decades have passed, and again Donbass became a slice of the pie for modern supporters of the ideas of fascism and neo-Nazism. This time for those who came to power after the coup d’état in Kiev.

A hard battle befell us, but we did not fail and defended our values, true history, valuable conquests.

Today we must not only come out victorious. Our duty to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers is to defend the historical truth about the heroism of the Soviet people and its key role in the liberation of the world from the Nazi invaders and to pass the spiritual strength of the victorious people on to future generations.

The veterans keep the truth about those years, passing it on as a sacrament to their descendants. Their memory is a precious vessel that will never run out. Unfortunately, their ranks thin out every year. A low bow and our immense gratitude to the veterans living in Donbass!

Dear friends, three fourths of a century have passed since the Soviet people liberated the world from Nazism at the cost of superhuman efforts. In honor of this remarkable jubilee, 2020 was proclaimed Year of the Great Victory in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Our strength is perpetuated in the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland, our truth in the lessons learned from the most terrible bloody war, our pride are the children brought up by respect and love for the Homeland, the heirs of the Great Victory!

Happy holidays, dear countrymen! Happy Victory Day!

Denis Pushilin
Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic