Germany blinded by narrative that its historical guilt concerns Russia only — Deputy Foreign Minister Melnyk

This was stated by Andriy Melnyk, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in an interview with Espreso.

According to Melnyk, the question of history is always a matter of politics, particularly in relations with such an important but challenging partner as Germany. He explained that Germany reacted inadequately to the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine because it believed that the damage caused during the Second World War concerned only Russia. Melnyk believes that Ukraine is still to some extent missing from the "map of historical memory."

"We saw how Germany inadequately responded to our opinion about the threat of war on February 24, as German society and politicians were blinded by the narrative that their historical guilt, which they inflicted, concerns only Russia. Ukraine was absent from the map of historical memory, and unfortunately, this situation persists to some extent until now. That is why the German political community forgave the current Russian regime, the annexation of Crimea, and the Kremlin's disregard of the Minsk agreements. The Germans turned a blind eye to all this because they believed that they could not tease the Russians, who, according to the story, owe German unity, which took place after almost 40 years of occupation of East Germany," said the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Moreover, Melnyk supports President Zelenskyi's initiative to celebrate Remembrance Day on May 8 because he believes it is an opportunity to honor the Ukrainian contribution to the victory. "Today's initiative of our president seems to me the right step, because it was on May 8 that the act of surrender was signed, so it is worth honoring the millions of Ukrainian victims of Nazism and celebrating the contribution of Ukrainians to the victory, which has always been downplayed. And May 9, Europe Day, is a day aimed at our future as a member of the EU or NATO," he said.

The diplomat emphasized that one of the tasks of Ukraine is "to obtain from Germany the recognition of Ukrainians as the nation that suffered the most from the Second World War." 

• May 8 and 9 mark the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. To ensure "a dignified commemoration of the fallen soldiers of the former Soviet army," Berlin police banned Russian and Ukrainian flags and songs around Soviet memorials.

• On May 6, the administrative court overturned the decision of the Berlin police to prohibit the display of Ukrainian flags at the Soviet memorials in Treptow, Tiergarten, and Schönholzer Heide on May 8 and 9. 

• On May 7, the administrative court of Berlin canceled the ban on Russian flags during commemorative events on May 8 and 9, despite the police's objections.