Head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk “people’s republic” (“DPR”) Denis Pushilin and a delegation from Russia have attended the opening ceremony of the monument to the old lady holding the Soviet flag in Mariupol, the website of the “DPR” leader informs.
First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko and Secretary of the General Council of United Russia party Andrey Turchak represented Russia at the ceremony.
According to Kiriyenko, the old lady named Anna has become a symbol of “continuity in the fight against Nazism and fascism.” “She has become the grandma of Donbass and of all Russia. We call our homeland our motherland for a reason. Grandma Anya is a symbol of the motherland for the entire Russian world, for all the people who have the right to determine how we want to live, the right to be ourselves, the right to speak the Russian language,” he said.
Kiriyenko in Mariupol. Photo: Pushilin's website
Kiriyenko and Turchak also met with WWII veterans and visited the Ilyich steel works plant during their trip to Mariupol. Besides, the officials met with local residents, assuring them that “Russia is here to stay,” Pushilin added.
Monument to the old lady holding the Soviet flag. Photo: Pushilin's website
Two days ago, a monument to the old lady with the red flag was installed in Russia’s Belgorod. However, local officials had to take it down the following day, as people were “attempting to climb the sculpture,” the mayor of Belgorod said.
In early April, a video shot by Ukrainian soldiers was posted on social media, which shows an old lady holding the Soviet flag coming out to meet the troops. The old woman seems to have mistaken the Ukrainian soldiers for Russian officers.
The video also shows a Ukrainian soldier handing groceries to the old woman, throwing the flag to the ground and stomping on it. The old lady then refuses the food, because the man has stomped on “the flag that her parents died for.” Later, Russia began to use the image of the old woman from the video as a pro-war symbol.
On Wednesday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu once again informed that Russia had established full control over Mariupol. Shoigu first reported to Vladimir Putin that the city had been captured on April 21. The Russian defence minister added that over 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers remained at the Azovstal steel works plant, and that “three to four days” were needed to finish the Azovstal operation. In response, Putin commanded to cancel the Azovstal offensive, deeming it "impractical."
