On the day of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the city of Kyiv from the Nazi occupiers, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky laid flowers in the memorial hall of the Monument – Museum of the Liberation of Kyiv, located on the territory of the National Museum “Battle for Kyiv in 1943” in the village of Novi Petrivtsi, Kyiv region.
“The liberation of Kyiv is a story of boundless indifference and cruelty of “great” leaders and boundless feats of great fighters who liberated the city from the Nazis,” the press service of the head of state reported, citing Zelensky as saying.
He recalled that according to official data, the losses in the battle for the Dnipro River amount to 417,000 dead. In the battles for Kyiv, up to 240,000 soldiers and officers fell. But according to the calculations of a number of historians, the total death toll is at least twice as high, because those mobilized through the field recruiting offices were often not taken on the military record, so as not to worsen the statistics of losses.
“Even not dressed in uniform and extremely poorly armed, hundreds of thousands of our ancestors were thrown into the battle for the liberation of Kyiv to certain death. We will never forget at what cost the capital of Ukraine was liberated from the Nazi occupiers on Nov. 6, 1943,” Zelensky said.
“Eternal memory and glory to all who liberated Kyiv from the Nazi invaders,” he added.
The head of state also talked with veterans of military operations in eastern Ukraine and instructed Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration Vasyl Volodin to step up the creation of a Center for National-Patriotic Education on the territory of the Museum.
