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“The symbolic city of the uprising of the Donbass people against the Kiev junta, the martyr city of the Bander occupation, which lasted eight years, is now undergoing a rapid restoration process under the auspices of the institutions of the Russian Federation, which it will become an integral part of,” says the invitation to the event, which is scheduled for March 20th. January will take place in a hall in the city of Modena.
The exhibition is organized by an association called “Russian Cultural Association of Emilia-Romagna”. The invited speakers include Russian Consul General Dmitri Shtodin and Italian representative of the International Russophile Movement Eliseo Bertolasi.
In order to take part in the event, you must first register by email. Based on the invitation on the social network Facebook, it certainly doesn’t look like there will be mass participation – around 30 people have confirmed their attendance there as of Friday morning.
When we say that we must protect ourselves from interference, it also means that we must not give public space to pro-Russia propaganda initiatives carried out on the back of the city of Mariupol, which Putin destroyed.
I hope that the mayor of Modena Muzzarelli can intervene pic.twitter.com/v2wJm3hESg— Lia Quartapelle (@LiaQuartapelle) January 3, 2024
Russia wants to make the Sea of Azov its internal territory
Great cynicism, the Ukrainians react
Unsurprisingly, however, the event angered Ukrainian diplomacy. Its spokesman Oleh Nikolenko described the exhibition as a “provocation”. “At the official level, Italy strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. And we expect that he will respond appropriately to this propaganda event,” Nikolenko said, according to the website Ukrainska pravda.
Photo: Profimedia.cz
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the children’s playground in Mariupol. Picture from March 2023
“We consider this action to be a great cynicism, an open insult to the memory of thousands of civilian victims, an action aimed at Russian propaganda and a violation of all moral foundations and principles,” Ukrainian Ambassador Jaroslav Melnyk wrote in a letter to the mayor of Modena, according to Italian website Il Sole 24 Ore.
Photo: Profimedia.cz
Restoration of the destroyed Mariupol Theater. Picture from December 2023
“It is not a city event, there is no city patronage, we have not provided any input or support. I’ll look at it and do what I can. Our position on the side of the attacked country was clear from day one.” he has answered to the outrage of the mayor of Modena, Gian Carlo Muzzarelli of the center-left Democratic Party.
Photo: Pavel Klimov, Reuters
Destroyed buildings of Mariupol after the Russian siege. Picture from May 2022
At the same time, Muzazrelli is also under pressure from some party colleagues. “We must avoid giving public space to propaganda initiatives in favor of Russia at the expense of Mariupol, which was destroyed by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.” I hope Mayor Muzzarelli can intervene.” She wrote for example the Italian MP Lia Quartapelle.
Russian forces besieged Mariupol in southern Ukraine from February 24 to May 20, 2022, when the last Ukrainian defenders surrendered at the sprawling Azov Valley steel mill complex. Estimates of the number of victims vary; according to Kiev, up to 25,000 people may have died.
An orphan who was abducted to Russia and drafted into the army returned to Ukraine
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