Zelensky commemorates fallen defenders of Ukraine. Photos, video

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky took part in the commemoration ceremony on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine fallen in the struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Danylyuk, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, Chief of General Staff - Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ruslan Khomchak, and the relatives of the victims attended the ceremony.

The ceremony was held near the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. During the event, the names of 223 servicemen killed that day in different years were read out. The memory of each defender was honored with a Memorial Bell. After that, the officials and relatives of the fallen soldiers laid flowers to the monument nearby.

As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on marking the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine, who were killed in the struggle for the country's independence and territorial integrity, on August 29.

On August 29, 2014, the Ukrainian troops started to go out of the encirclement near Ilovaisk in Donbas. The active units of the Russian armed forces, which had invaded Ukraine, fired on a corridor along which the Ukrainian soldiers were expected to leave. According to official data, 366 Ukrainian military and law enforcement officers were killed, 429 were wounded, 128 were captured, 158 went missing.

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