Two processions in honor of the 110th birthday of Stepan Bandera took place in Kyiv.
The torchlight procession was carried out by Svoboda association, the Right Sector and other right-wing and radical organizations. Participants of the event marched from the monument to Taras Shevchenko to Independence Square.
“Now about more than two thousand people are at the streets. At the same time, another“ alternative ”march dedicated to Bandera’s birthday is going in parallel. It is held by the so-called Azov Movement - the National Corps, the National Friends and other representatives of this association. They started the march from the Opera Theater. The participants of this event wear camouflage and New Year's hats, "said a commentator during the broadcast of Radio Liberty.
Stepan Bandera is a Ukrainian politician, ideologist and theorist of the Ukrainian nationalist movement of the twentieth century. On his birthday on January 1, Ukraine traditionally hosts events to honor his memory, which end with torchlight processions.
Earlier Ambassador of Israel to Ukraine Joel Lion has written an open letter in which he stated that he is shocked by a decision of Lviv Regional Council to declare 2019 as the year of Stepan Bandera as Israeli Embassy reported on Facebook.
“I was shocked when I heard the decision of Lviv Regional Council to declare 2019 as the year of Stepan Bandera. I cannot understand how the glorifying of those, who directly participated in the horrible anti-Semitic crimes, helps to fight against the anti-Semitism and xenophobia. Ukraine should not forget the crimes committed against Ukrainian Jews and should not celebrate them by the worship of their performers in any way,” the message said.
