MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. The Ukrainian parliament’s decision to ban the St. George ribbon, a Russian symbol of military valor, is an anti-democratic and anti-historic move, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
"To speak seriously, the decision is anti-democratic and anti-historic, throwing into doubt a principled possibility of some kind of the country’s unification," the Russian diplomat wrote on her Facebook page.
"It is interesting to see how Ukraine will celebrate Victory Day and hold an Immortal Regiment march next year," she wrote.
The Ukrainian authorities have neither the strength nor the will to solve real problems but "now they will find money for tiger-repainting," the Russian diplomat wrote.
The Ukrainian parliament passed a law on Tuesday to ban the use of the St. George ribbon, a Russian symbol of military valor.
The decision was supported by 238 deputies compared to the required minimum of 226 votes.
"This law envisages an administrative penalty for wearing the so-called St. George ribbon during mass events," bill author and deputy from the National Front faction Anton Gerashchenko said, speaking from the parliament’s rostrum.
As the deputy alleged, the Ukrainian parliament is thus countering "the Russian aggression in Ukraine" as it considered the St. George ribbon as its symbol.
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The administrative penalty won’t apply to World War II veterans wearing elements of the St. George ribbon in their military decorations, as well as to museum expositions.
The new Ukrainian law stipulates a penalty of 850 to 2,550 hryvnia ($32-96) for the public demonstration of the St. George ribbon together with the ribbon’s confiscation.
A repeat violation of this law during a year may entail a penalty of up to 5,100 hryvnia ($192) or an administrative arrest for up to 15 days together with the ribbon’s confiscation.