The war in Ukraine obscured the ceremony of victory over the Nazis: "Once again blood, war and sorrow"

The ceremony was held at the Red Army Memorial on Mount Herzl with the participation of dozens of veterans and their families.

Those who saw the horrors of war about 80 years ago fear the current sights in Ukraine, and warn: "Even in World War II there did not seem such destruction of the built-up areas and property as we see now."

Shlomi Heller

09/05/2022

Monday, 09 May 2022, 17:46

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Veterans Conference on Mount Herzl, today (Photo: Shlomi Heller)

A ceremony marking Victory Day over Nazi Germany was held today (Monday) at the Red Army Memorial on Mount Herzl with the participation of dozens of veterans and their families.

This, in the shadow of the war in Ukraine - which clouded some of the participants in the ceremony and was a major issue discussed between them.

Ilya Sokolov (97), originally from Ukraine, from the Donbas region, volunteered for the front when he was only 17 years old.

He survived the greatest armored battle in history - the Battle of Kursk, and by the age of 20 had already commanded an infantry company in dozens of missions in the campaign to liberate Poland, Germany and Belarus.

Among other things, he participated in the liberation of Warsaw.

"Even in World War II, after the liberation of Ukraine, I did not see such destruction and annihilation of the built up areas and property as we see now, I am shocked by this and do not know what to think, as one who fought for four years in the Red Army in World War II alongside Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, Jews "Not Jews. It's crazy what's happening now."

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Veterans Conference on Mount Herzl, today (Photo: Shlomi Heller)

Alexander Gelfand, chairman of the Jerusalem Department of World War II Veterans Organization, first referred to the memorial event. "This event is not just for us - but especially for future generations, who knew what we went through and what the world went through.

Our goal is for this memory to be sacred. "Gelfand also referred to war overseas." It's a very bad thing, it's impossible for brothers to fight each other, it's the last thing that should have happened.

Once Ukrainians and Russians were brothers and now they are fighting.

"This Putin is doing bad things, it's blood again, war and sorrow again."

Dr. Wadim Hasdan, chairman of the Chernobyl Disaster Liquidators Association in Israel, said the ceremony was impressive and strengthening.

"Although the political situation is very difficult and the situation in Ukraine and Russia is not simple, I hope that in the end there will be peace," he said.

"As World Veterans Chairman Avraham Michael Greenside said - mixed feelings, on the one hand it is peoples who fought against Nazi Germany, and I also fought in the Soviet army along with Russian, Ukrainian and Kyrgyz guys, of all nationalities, and we had no problems Never.

"Now, we, grandchildren and descendants of parents and grandparents who fought in the war, my parents for example fled from Belarus to Russia and thus actually survived, now see these peoples fighting with each other and it is just absurd. "We are supposedly neutral, but there are many who have relatives on both sides and it is clear that there will be conflicts and arguments, but I want to leave everything aside but understand everyone's feelings and pain."

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