The Ukrainian embassy on Monday denounced the granting of permits to a Russian organisation in Cyprus for events to honour the WWII victims as a “cynical and immoral” gesture towards Ukrainians.
The Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots in Cyprus has been given permission to organise a series of events in various cities of the island in honour of the victims of the Second World War. May 9 is Victory Day, a holiday that commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Public events entitled “Fire of Memory” are being organised in the cities of Larnaca, Limassol and Nicosia, sponsored by the pro-Kremlin movement “Pan-Russian Popular Front”.
But according to the embassy of Ukraine in Cyprus, this organisation is included in the EU sanctions and holding such activities in a European country is “a sign of indifference by the Russian authorities to European legislation”.
This organisation is also “a brazen attempt to involve the relevant municipal and law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Cyprus in a deliberate violation of EU decisions,” the Embassy of Ukraine in Nicosia said.
It noted that this is happening at a time when Ukraine has been fighting for its right to exist for the past nine years and its people are struggling every day for a peaceful democratic future.
“We consider that the granting of a permit to hold public meetings in the Republic of Cyprus by an organisation which has been banned on EU territory is a cynical and immoral gesture towards all Ukrainians.”
Most European countries, it added, have clearly defined their position on their support for Ukraine and its citizens and “stood on the side of truth and light”.
The political leadership of the Republic of Cyprus has repeatedly and strongly condemned Russia’s full-scale military invasion of the territory of Ukraine and has been and remains in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the statement stressed.
The Embassy of Ukraine called on the municipal and competent authorities of the Republic of Cyprus to pay special attention to the activities of the specific Russian organisation and to carefully investigate the main goal and occasion of future activities of the council.
On Saturday, an event to honour the fallen during World War II during was held at the monument in Larnaca of Cypriot heroes who fell during WWII, in the presence of Russian Ambassador to Cyprus Murat Zyazikov.
The following day, Ukrainians held a protest in Limassol under the slogan ‘no to racism-modern fascism’ against the scheduled car rally by Russians on Victory Day, May 9. Over the event, communities of Ukrainians and other European diasporas sent letters of protest to the municipality of Limassol and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus.