**Ukrainians Living Under Russian Occupation Defy Putin’s Victory Day Celebrations**
As Russia celebrates its Victory Day, marking the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, Ukrainians living under Russian occupation are doing everything they can to defy the celebrations.
For one activist who lives in Tokmak, a town in Zaporizhzhia Oblast that has been occupied by Russian forces since 2022, the holiday is a stark reminder of the country’s dark past. “My child hears about May 9 and almost screams, and so do I,” they say. “Every week at school, from the very beginning of the semester, my kid has to do something about May 9.”
The activist explains that the Russian authorities have been forcing students to learn Soviet propaganda songs and wear Soviet uniforms as part of their Victory Day celebrations. But many Ukrainians are resisting this brainwashing effort.
**Resistance is a Must**
For activists like Natalia Shatilova-Pohasiy, a volunteer with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society in Kherson, resistance to Russia’s Victory Day celebrations is a must. “After 13 March (2022), when Kherson residents marched in columns to the Park of Glory with Ukrainian flags and inscriptions ‘Kherson is Ukraine,’ we did not celebrate Victory Day,” she says.
Others have taken even more extreme measures to defy the Russian authorities. In Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, some parents withdrew their children from school rather than allow them to draw postcards for the Russian military.
**A Monument to Stalin**
In occupied Melitopol, a monument was unveiled to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, with a plaque reading: “To the organizer and inspirer of the victory of the Soviet people over the Nazi invaders, Generalissimo of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin, from grateful descendants.”
This is particularly ironic given that Stalin’s legacy in Ukraine is marked by profound suffering. Under his rule, millions of Ukrainians died during the Holodomor, a man-made famine in 1932-1933.
**Compulsory Viewing**
In schools and kindergartens in occupied Donetsk Oblast, students are being forced to watch the Victory Day parade in Moscow as part of their curriculum. “I know from my acquaintances that there is a total ‘victory frenzy’ in schools and kindergartens,” says one activist.
This year’s Victory Day celebrations have been marked by disruptions, with the parade in Sevastopol, Crimea, being cancelled over safety concerns. Other events around occupied Ukraine also suffered a similar fate.
Despite these efforts to resist the Russian authorities, many Ukrainians are still living under occupation and facing persecution for their defiance. As one activist says, “The enemy is right here.”
