Ukrainian nuclear workers fired over WW2 celebrations
Ukraine’s national nuclear power plant operator Energoatom has fired three employees of the Zaporozhye plant for taking part in an Immortal Regiment march during commemorations of the 77th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.
The company announced the decision in its Telegram channel on Wednesday, adding that “the three former workers of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant can now make any other institution or organization happy with their presence.”
Energoatom stated that while it honors the memory of those who defeated Nazism with “infinite respect” it considers any joint celebrations with “those who are killing Ukrainians today” to be “unacceptable.”
The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, is located in the city of Energodar in Zaporozhye Region of Ukraine, where Russian forces took control of several cities in early March.
On May 9, people from the Zaporozhye, Kherson and Kharkov regions took part in the ‘Immortal Regiment’ procession, which is traditionally held in Russia and some other countries on Victory Day in remembrance of those who laid down their lives during the fight against Nazi Germany during the second World War. The marches were held in Kherson, Melitopol, Mariupol and other cities across the region.
Russia launched an offensive against Ukraine in late February, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
