- The conference was devoted to three issues: nuclear security, food security and compliance with basic humanitarian principles
- Justin Trudeau, at one point, shouted two words as he stood next to Volodymyr Zelensky and took a souvenir photo of all the participants in the meeting.
- They angered Russian politicians and commentators. – In memory of the exploits of Canadians who fought as part of the anti-Hitler coalition, Mr. Trudeau stomps — Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov is furious.
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Swiss President Viola Amherd opened the weekend meeting, stressing that a final peace deal with Ukraine was not the goal of the summit, but only the first step towards reaching a consensus.
He recalled that the conference was primarily devoted to three issues: nuclear security, food security and compliance with basic humanitarian principles, which did not raise much controversy among the participants.
One of the participants in the Swiss meeting was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Standing next to Volodymyr Zelensky for a souvenir photo, at one point he shouted two words: “Glory to Ukraine,” and some leaders responded: “Glory to the heroes.” The moment was immortalized in a 13-second video from Switzerland. It also shows Zelensky seeing the Canadian Prime Minister.
The Canadian politician’s words infuriated Russian politicians and commentators. “Judging by the reaction of those present, even Zelensky did not expect this from the Canadian leader,” writes the pro-Kremlin news agency TASS.
Russian ambassador slams Canadian PM: It’s like “Heil Hitler”
The Canadian politician’s behavior was met with a strong reaction from the Russian ambassador to Canada. – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trampling on the memory of the exploits of Canadians who fought against Nazism as part of the anti-Hitler coalition by publicly shouting Bandera slogans, Oleg Stepanov said.
He added, “The Russian embassy has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Canadian authorities to the Nazi nature of the slogan, which was invented by Bandera’s supporters after the ‘Heil Hitler’ slogan.” – We talked about it publicly, but the priority of life in the “Ottawa bubble” is unconditional support for the Kiev regime, which favors moderation – the Russian diplomat explained, quoted by TASS.
– By shouting the slogan of Nazi collaborators from the platform, Mr. .
“Glory to Ukraine”, or from Shevchenko’s poetry to controversy
“Sława Ukrazyni!”, or “Glory to Ukraine!” in Polish, is a greeting that has gained special prominence in recent months. President Zelensky ends his speeches with these words. Poles also often say or write on social media to encourage our neighbors to leave the occupied country.
“Glory to Ukraine!” The phrase first appeared in Taras Shevchenko’s poem “To Osnovianenko” written in 1840. At the end of the 19th century, it was used by students of the Kharkiv Institute of Technology and the first Ukrainian political members of the Ukrainian Revolutionary Party. Party on the territory of the Russian Empire.
The slogan was fully implemented In 1917-1921, when it was part of the cry of the troops of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (URL), it was first used in this context in Sevastopol. Henryk Jozewski, a Polish politician and independence activist who was in Kiev at the time, wrote in his notes: “Ukrainian existence has risen like a phoenix from the ashes, which makes you shout ‘Glory to Ukraine’.”
It was the time of the Ukrainian revolution, so there was chanting in the streets during the demonstrations. In 1917, the Ukrainian Congress of Podolia Province, after discussions on the Ukrainization of the Church, unanimously shouted “Glory to Ukraine and its Church”. It was during the First World War when military units of the Ukrainian People’s Republic fought alongside German and Austro-Hungarian soldiers against Russia.
From nationalists to “symbol of pro-European protests”.
In 1925, “Slava Ukrajini” was followed by “Herojam Slava”, a slogan used by members of the Legion of Ukrainian Nationalists at the time. In 1929, the newly founded Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) wanted to create an independent Ukrainian state on lands considered Ukrainian and collaborated with the Weimar Republic, as well as carrying out terrorist and subversive activities. The Second Polish Republic adopted the reception as its own. The slogan was accompanied by a fascist salute. Later, during the rule of the Soviet Union, the use of the slogan was banned — Soviet propaganda claimed that Ukrainian nationalism was associated with crimes.
“During the court hearings against OUN leader Stephen Bandera in 1936, there are recordings showing his supporters chanting ‘Glory to Ukraine.’ — Oleksandr Zaitsev, a historian at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, told Deutsche Welle.
However, Zaitsev believes that this slogan should not be associated with fascism: “During Euromaidan, this slogan basically lost its connection with the OUN and became one of the symbols of pro-European protests.” — He explained.
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