The Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, together with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, attended the wake in Kiev this Friday of the charismatic Ukrainian volunteer Dmytro Kotsiubailo, known as “Da Vinci”, killed in the Battle of Bakhmut at the age of 27 .
Together with the Ukrainian leader, Marin sent condolences to the family of the young man, who joined the army in 2014 to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity against Moscow-backed separatists in the east of the country. the Monastery of São Miguel das Domes Douradas.
The Finnish Prime Minister also honored the memory of the thousands of soldiers, volunteers and police who have fallen since 2014 defending Ukrainian territory against separatist militias and the Russian army on the wall surrounding this monastery in the center of Kiev, where the aftermath of ” DaVinci”.
Coinciding with the visit of the Prime Minister of Finland to the capital of Ukraine, who has continuously supported the Ukrainian defense, The government of Finland announced a €29 million aid package for Kiev that will serve to strengthen the health and education systems of the country that was invaded by Russia in February last year.
Finland, a country bordering Russia, applied to join NATO in May last year, following the Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory.
The young fighter honored by Sanna Marin died on March 7 near the city of Bakhmut, located in eastern Ukraine, where a long battle has been going on for months, with many casualties on both sides.
“Da Vinci” was very popular in Ukraine and was remembered by Zelensky in his daily address to the nation on the day of his death.
“One of those young heroes of Ukraine whose personal story, character and courage forever became the character and courage of Ukraine,” said Zelensky, noting that since 2014 “Da Vinci” has been fighting for the “independence and dignity” of the country.
After the religious service attended by the Finnish Prime Minister, thousands of Ukrainian citizens bid their last farewell to the army on Independence Square, in the center of Kiev.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14.6 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.1 million to European countries – according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented 8,173 civilian deaths and 13,620 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the real ones.
Source: DN
