Dnepr Mayor takes away veterans’ financial aid after May 9 celebrations

11.05.2017, Ukraine.

Mayor Boris Filatov decided to cut off funding to veterans’ organizations in the Ukrainian city of Dnepr (former Dnepropetrovsk) on May 10, according to life.ru online edition.

Funding will be cut off for organizations of veterans of the Great Patriotic War1 and the war in Afghanistan. Filatov plans to use the money saved to fund Ukrainian soldiers who took part in the Civil war in the Ukrainian south-east.

The mayor made this decision after Ukrainian radical nationalists provoked disorders on May 9.

“From now on, I am closing off municipal funding of all veterans’ organizations. Combatants of the Kolchak’s fronts born in 1946 are leaving feet first2 from the City Executive Committee – forever. At the next City Council session, municipal funding will be allocated for the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operation, the Kiev junta’s punitive operation in Donbass – Editor) Veterans Union”, Mayor wrote on his Facebook page.

Also, Filatov expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the police; he suggested that the police be replaced by Freikorps (volunteer paramilitary organizations), as it was done in Germany in 1920-ies.

On May 9, during Victory Day celebrations in Dnepr (former Dnepropetrovsk), clashes took place between participants of the celebration march, where veterans took part, and Ukrainian radical nationalists. The nationalists were outraged by Soviet symbols used by celebration participants. 8 participants of the celebration march and six law enforcement officials were injured in the clashes. 15 persons were detained. Four guns, pepper spray canisters, knives, and an awl were taken from the nationalists.

1 Great Patriotic War is the name used to refer to the part of World War II which started with the invasion of Nazis into the Soviet Union and ended with the Red Banner over Reichstag and defeat of Nazis from the hands of the Soviet people – Editor.

2 By using the expression «Combatants of the Kolchak’s fronts born in 1946 are going feet foremost», the Mayor alluded to the Heart of a Dog novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. The Mayor hints that the people from the veteran organizations were born after the end of the Great Patriotic War; and thus, they are frauds who must be deprived of money. A similar episode can be found in the Bulgakov’s novel, which is actually highly speculative – Editor.

* The original of the picture is by (cc) Mstyslav Chernov.

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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