Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko: Victory Day is a day of national pride

MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) - Victory Day is a day of national pride, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during a wreath and flower ceremony at the Victory Monument in Minsk on 9 May, BelTA has learned.

“Victory Day is a day of national pride! We remember our soldiers and officers, Belarusian partisans and underground resistance fighters, the women who took up arms. All those who did not choose between the gallows and the enemy’s mercy, but died as heroes, not as traitors,” the president said. “We bow our heads before the mothers who sent their sons and daughters to the front. Even today, we remember with pain in our hearts the children of war, who grew up overnight, took up rifles, or stood at factory machines on the home front. We are proud of everyone who, after the Victory, lifted Belarus from the ruins, rebuilding cities and restoring the national economy.”

The head of state noted that Victory Day is also a day of brotherly unity among nations. “This is a holiday that reminds us how strong we are when we stand together. We, the heirs of the victors, must not forget who we are if we want to live in peace and security. If we do not want war,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

“Victory Day is a day of historical justice! Our duty is to preserve the truth about that war, to tell everything, even what is sometimes hard to say,” the head of state continued. “We must teach our youth to see the face of fascism beneath the mask of good intentions. That is what we must do for their peaceful future and for our native land.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked everyone who, on Victory Day, goes to memorials and commemorative sites alongside veterans and families, and who bring their children with them: “Thank you! Thank you for doing everything to ensure that the thread of time is never broken. Thanks to you and to our shared memory, the Eternal Flame burns on, a symbol of our ancestors’ great feat.”

Addressing the veterans, the president stressed that their heroism is a moral high ground. “We, Belarusians, have no other path but the one you began, the path to peace and creation. We will do everything to preserve the peace that you won for us,” he said.

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