Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, and Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, paid tribute to the fallen Ukrainian defenders killed in the war with Russia since 2014 and reminded that the aggressor “can never be trusted”.
On 29 August, Ukraine commemorates the soldiers who died fighting for the country’s independence and territorial integrity.
This date marks the 10th anniversary of a tragic event during the Battle of Ilovaisk in 2014, when regular Russian troops encircled Ukrainian fighters who attempted to withdraw through a supposed “green corridor” and opened fire on the Ukrainian columns.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, 366 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, 429 suffered injuries of various degrees, and 300 were captured.
Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, emphasized that a path of Ukrainian soldiers laid through a sunflower field. The sunflower has since become a traditional symbol of this remembrance day.
“These events became a huge lesson – Putin can never be trusted, any compromise with him is a trap,” Budanov wrote.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Syrskyi, also reflected on the broader implications of the Ilovaisk events.
“This day will always remind us of the insidiousness and treachery of the Russian aggressor, that any negotiations with terrorists and murderers are a deadly dangerous affair, and that they cannot be trusted,” Syrskyi wrote.
He expressed gratitude to the parents of those who lost their lives for the “freedom of Ukrainian people.”
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