The President responded to suggestions from the veterans regarding the upcoming 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The round table took place in Kiev on June 22, 2009 and was arranged by the International Ukrainian Union of War Veterans to discuss the 65th anniversary of Ukraine’s liberation marked in 2009, as well as the upcoming 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. The round table was attended by representatives of six Ukrainian public organisations of veterans with aggregate membership of over ten million, as well as military attaches from the embassies of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. The suggestions put forward at the round table were addressed to the CIS leaders.
In their message, the Ukrainian veterans call on the leaders to set aside political bias, take an attentive look at the contemporary realities, and re-instil society with respect for people who devoted their lives to defending their nation from aggressors and who restored it after the war.
In particular, the veterans suggest declaring 2010 the Year of Great Patriotic War Veterans throughout the CIS member-states; attributing to activities dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Victory the highest official status; arranging for the exchange of war veterans delegations; renovating war memorials, monuments, common graves and other places where defenders of the motherland are buried, memorial plaques, and museums; promoting military and patriotic education for young people based on the heroic traditions of the victors; and preventing the falsification and revision of Great Patriotic War history.