80 years of victory over Nazism: Ukraine's perspective

Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko

On Thursday, Ukraine and the world will commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazism and the end of World War II in Europe. This is a very important date for Ukraine, whose people suffered a nationwide tragedy during World War II and played a major role in defeating Hitler.

Ukraine was one of the main theaters of World War II. The frontline rolled through Ukraine twice, first from west to east and then from east to west. As a result, the Ukrainian people suffered tremendous loss of life and devastation.

During World War II, Ukraine lost approximately 8 million people, including 5 million civilians and 3 million soldiers. Ukrainians fought in a variety of armies as part of the anti-Hitler coalition, including 6 million in the Red Army and hundreds of thousands in resistance movements and allied armies from Poland, the United States, Canada and France.

The Second World War had an impact on every Ukrainian family. Each town and village was affected. This is why it infuriates the Ukrainian people so much when this memory is manipulated. We categorically reject Russian historical manipulations, attempts to downplay or manipulate Ukraine’s role and claims that Russia has exclusive rights to victory over Nazism.

In 1939, Hitler’s Third Reich and Stalin’s USSR were twin totalitarian regimes. With concentration camps and inhuman ideologies that justified the extermination of millions of people. Their pact, signed on August 23, 1939, triggered the outbreak of World War II. Moscow tries to hide this uncomfortable fact.

The two totalitarian regimes, the Nazi Third Reich and the Communist USSR, were allies at the start of the war and divided Poland together. They held a joint Soviet-Nazi military parade in Brest on September 22, 1939, three weeks after the outbreak of World War II.

The end of World War II brought peace, but not freedom, to many European nations. The Soviet Union occupied or controlled Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and other Central European nations. One totalitarian rule replaced another.

No country has the right to claim exclusive rights on the victory over Nazism, which was a result of great efforts by dozens of countries and hundreds of nations. Even more unacceptable are attempts to use the moral authority of a World War II victor to justify modern wars of aggression and atrocities.

Putin's cult of 'great victory' as justification for aggression

Putin has portrayed victory over Nazism as a solely Russian achievement. In 2010, he went so far as to say that the victory would have been achieved without Ukrainians. During his reign, the “Great Victory” has become an ideological cult to justify war against Ukraine and other crimes.

Putin’s regime portrays its current war against Ukraine as a continuation of World War II. In Russia’s parallel reality, Ukrainians are “Nazis”, while Russians are “liberators.” Many Russians believe in this insane propaganda. They think they are doing the right thing by invading a neighboring country and killing its people.

Putin tries to use the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazism for propaganda purposes. The so-called “victory parade” on Friday is meant to be the culmination of the victory cult. Putin’s regime has already launched a massive propaganda campaign aimed at achieving three major goals.

First, Putin wants to engage foreign leaders, politicians and military units to demonstrate that he has allies in his aggression and that his regime’s international isolation is eroding.

Second, Putin seeks to mobilize more Russians to the front lines in order to kill more Ukrainians and seize more Ukrainian territory. Russia is currently losing over 1,000 soldiers killed and wounded in action every day, but making little to no progress on the front lines. Putin needs more cannon fodder to feed his criminal invasion.

Third, Putin seeks to strengthen his regime and extend his illegal rule. Russia is facing systemic economic problems. Millions of Russians live below the poverty line. Widespread government corruption wastes billions. Massive resources are being poured into the war against Ukraine. With so few reasons for national pride, the May 9 parade and its propaganda serve as a substitute for the masses.

In reality, Russian soldiers marching through Red Square on Friday will have nothing to do with the victory over Nazism. Some of them may have massacred civilians in Bucha, Irpin, Izyum, Mariupol and other sites of Europe’s most heinous atrocities since World War II.

Russians must ask Putin: "What kind of victory they are celebrating with such fanfare." Over 900,000 soldiers were killed or wounded, and Russia failed to capture even one additional regional center in Ukraine compared to 2014. Since 2022, Russia has not achieved a single strategic goal in Ukraine.

Putin's place is in dock, not on 'victory parade'

Putin's regime must be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. And all Russian war criminals must face justice for all subsequent atrocities committed against Ukrainians. Their place is at the dock, not in a victory parade.

We urge all partners and international organizations to honor the memory of all World War II victims while also protecting and promoting the fact-based historical truth about that terrible war. We urge everyone to avoid being used as a tool for Russian propaganda and the whitewashing of war crimes.

The appropriate way to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazism is to pay tribute to the war’s victims rather than privatizing and exploiting the victory for modern political gain. This is a commemorative, not celebratory, event.

Ukraine, along with other European nations, will commemorate this day on May 8, the day the war in Europe ended. We will honor the achievements of all liberators, Ukrainians and others, who defeated Nazi evil. And we will make every effort to put an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which is the most brutal aggression on European soil since World War II.

On May 8 and May 9, we expect our partners to demonstrate strong support and solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We must show collective unity and strength, as well as our shared resolve to hold the Russian evil accountable. We expect new announcements of military aid packages to strengthen Ukrainian warriors, as well as new decisions to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. We also expect steps on accountability to show that justice for all Russian crimes is inevitable.

Dmytro Ponomarenko is Ukraine's ambassador to the Republic of Korea.