Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to the reproaches of Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov, who yesterday called the new state holiday of Ukraine, which will be celebrated on July 28, an attempt to privatize the day of the baptism of Rus.
This is reported by LB.ua.
During a briefing on Thursday, August 26, Kuleba said that the decree of Volodymyr Zelensky simply restores historical justice.
"You and I are no stranger to Russia's manipulative attitude to history, but our answer to this is very simple: colleagues, Russian colleagues, unlike you, Ukraine does not need to privatize anything, for we have been living on our land for 1000 years. It is you who come to a foreign land, trying to appropriate it, it is you who are trying to appropriate someone else's history, someone else's dishes, someone else's culture. Ukraine was, is and will be, and the decree of the president of Ukraine simply recorded this fact," the minister said.
"It is very disappointing to see another transformation of diplomacy into propaganda performed by Russian diplomats," Kuleba bemoaned.
The decree on the introduction of the day of Ukrainian statehood was signed by the president during the opening of the parade dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
Statehood Day will be celebrated on the day of the baptism of Ukraine-Rus, July 28.
Earlier, Lavrov stated that Ukraine is going to "privatize the day of the baptism of Rus". He joked that "soon, Mr. Zelensky may decide that the New Year can be celebrated exclusively in Ukraine."