KIEV, May 9. /TASS/. Unidentified persons dispersed tear gas in the column of people participating in an Immortal Regiment march in Kiev, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene on Monday.
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None of the march’s participants was hurt in the incident. Earlier on Monday, there were attempts to prevent the Immortal Regiment participants from marching to the Eternal Glory Park where they planned to end their procession at the Eternal Flame to mark the 71st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The way to the Park was later unblocked.
About 10,000 people took part in the Immortal Regiment march in Kiev, carrying the portraits of their relatives who had fought during the years of the Great Patriotic War. Unidentified persons in camouflaged uniform also warned the march’s participants against wearing St. George ribbons, a symbol of the heroic deeds of Soviet soldiers during the Great Patriotic War, in order to avoid provocations.
The Ukrainian parliament passed a law last year on renaming Day of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 into the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II. On May 8, Ukraine also celebrated Day of Memory and Reconciliation.
The Immortal Regiment public event was first held in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012. In 2013, it was already held in 120 cities, and in 2014, in 500 cities and towns in seven countries. The action officially became all-Russian since 2015.
According to official data, about 27 million Soviet citizens, including both civilians and servicemen, died in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1941-1945.