CHISINAU, April 19. /TASS/. Moldovan President Maia Sandu on Tuesday adopted a ban on the St. George ribbon approved by parliament.

"Today I have promulgated a law of the Republic of Moldova prohibiting the use of symbols that promote military aggression," Sandu said during a briefing. According to her, the changes will come into force after the official publication.

Sandu explained that the ban is imposed on symbols and letters used by Russian troops in Ukraine. "This is not a ban on the symbols of the war from 77 years ago, it concerns current war in Ukraine," she assured. Sandu urged the opposition denouncing the ban not create a rift in society, and also called on the country’s residents to condemn Russia's actions. "Those who justify the murder of Ukrainians now, may demand the murder of Moldovans in the near future. Those who do not condemn the war today are similar to those who did not condemn the pogroms, the Holocaust and the deportations of the past," she claimed.

The architects of the ban are lawmakers from the pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). Individuals who wear, display and distribute the St. George ribbon will face fines ranging from 4,500 lei (about $250) to 9,000 lei (about $500). The authors of the changes explained that the ban does not apply to award bars and ribbons of orders.

This decision has already been condemned by a number of Moldovan public organizations, including the Union of Officers and the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots. Deputies of the opposition Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BECS) last week challenged the move in the Constitutional Court after approval in the second reading in parliament. The restriction contradicts the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova that guarantees freedom of opinion and the possibility of its public expression, MP Adrian Lebedinsky told TASS.

Earlier, ex-President of Moldova Igor Dodon suggested that the nation’s residents would not comply with this ban, and advised the PAS not to create a divide in society. He also assured that on May 9 he will go to the Memorial of Military Glory, wearing the St. George ribbon on his chest, as he has done in the past.