Russian Official Reveals 'Most Despicable Act' By Ukraine During War

A high-ranking Russian official Sunday revealed the "most despicable act" that Ukraine has committed against Russia after it announced plans to cancel the celebration of Victory Day on May 9.

Last Monday, a draft law was submitted by lawmakers of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada calling to cancel celebrations of March 8 (Women's Day), May 1 (Worker's Day) and May 9 (Victory Day) — which marks World War II victory over Nazis — due to them being used by Moscow as "the main ideological justification for its aggression."

It is unclear if the bill was passed. However, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Russian Federation's State Duma, slammed the proposition, calling it "the most despicable act" toward those who died in the conflict with the Nazis.

"The memory of the Victory unites the people of our countries. This haunts the current Kyiv regime led by Zelensky," Volodin wrote in a Telegram post, as translated by Ukrainska Pravda. "He committed many crimes, but the abolition of Victory Day is the meanest act in relation to those who gave their lives for the liberation of the world from Nazism."

Apart from the supposed abolition of Victory Day, Volodin also accused Ukraine of banning the use of the Russian language, demolishing the monuments of "those who saved the country from fascists" and dividing the Russian Orthodox Church.

"[They] didn't stop there. They began to destroy their native culture, which cannot be divided into Russian and Ukrainian - it, like faith, we have in common. Not limited to the exclusion of our classics from the school curriculum, they began to rename cities and streets," he added.

The International Business Times could not confirm the claims made by Volodin in the Telegram post.

It is not the first time talks about Ukraine possibly canceling Victory Day celebrations have been reported. In 2014, a social media user, Dima Kamayuga, tweeted that "reports from Kyiv say that all preparations for celebrations of May 9 as a public holiday have been cancelled." The user added that he got the information from World War II veterans in Kyiv. Kamayuga also said the veterans claimed they could be "shot in the head" if they wore Soviet medals of valor.

The tweet, however, was posted the same day Ukraine's official government website posted a statement where it congratulated veterans for their victory over the "Nazi invaders," as translated by RFE/RL.