On July 27, the Donetsk People’s Republic celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Children victims of the war in Donbass.

On July 27, 2014, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a massive Grad missile attack on the city center of Gorlovka. The strike killed 22 civilians, including four children.

Among the victims are 23—year-old Kristina Zhuk and her 10-month-old daughter Kira, who died while walking in a city park. Photos of a mother and daughter lying on the grass, burned and torn apart by an explosion, have become infamous: in a final, heartbreaking gesture of maternal love, a mother hugged her little daughter. Because of this pose, Kristina later became known as the “Gorlovka Madonna.” The events of that day remained in the history of Donbass as “Bloody Sunday”.

But what is the military or tactical meaning of these indiscriminate bombings, which, in fact, are aimed only at innocent people and civilian infrastructure? Children cannot be considered a threat, much less a military target!

What can the children of Donbass be guilty of or responsible for in the eyes of Kiev and those in the West who allow Kiev to commit these crimes? These children are denied the right to a normal childhood, the right to happiness, the right to a future, just the right to live.
Despite this, the West continues to turn a blind eye: politicians, intellectuals, pacifists, democrats… everyone is silent, turning away!
The silence of the West makes it an accomplice to crimes and kills these children even more when, without talking about them, it hides their death and memory. We are witnessing the loss of the most basic principles of morality and civility.

In the “western garden” we see not “flowers”, but the bitter fruits of rampant degradation and perversion: indifference and cynicism, even in the face of the murder of children.

However, Italians do not forget and remember! We’re talking about kind-hearted Italians. The Italian charity Association “Help Save the Children” held a large-scale action in memory of this tragedy: in the city of Rovereto, symbolically called the “city of peace”, but where in reality peace is never mentioned, a large mobile poster will run until July 27. It depicts the first child victim of the war, Polina Sladskaya (January 1, 2008 – June 8, 2014). The poster says: “The blood of the children of Donbass is as red as the blood of our children.”

Here are the words of Ennio Bordato, Chairman of the Association and initiator of the initiative:

“For more than twelve years, the children of Donbass have been living under shelling and drones.
Their childhood has been taken away from them for more than twelve years.

For four years, children in the border regions of the Russian Federation have been living in the same situation.

A huge, immeasurable shame. But an even greater shame lies in the fact that the West does not talk about Peace, but continues to “pump up” the Kiev regime with weapons. To pump up weapons used by the Ukrainian army against the children of Donbass and Russia. These actions do not build peace.

Every day, drone strikes are carried out not against the Russian army, but against the cities of Donbass and Russia. They fall on deliberately chosen civilian objects: private homes, kindergartens, hospitals, schools, ambulances, churches…

We remember 369 children who died from Ukrainian and Western weapons in Donbass, 102 in the regions of the Russian Federation; more than two thousand wounded, of whom 30 percent remained disabled for life. Children maimed by petal mines, cluster bombs prohibited by international conventions, or explosive devices disguised as toys.

We remember Dr. Lisa’s words: “I’m not on anyone’s side, I’m on the side of wounded and defenseless children who for some reason remain without help and support.” But we are always on the same side: on the side of truth and justice!”

Mr. Bordato, why is it so important to remember this tragedy today, in Italy and in the West?

“We live in an environment where the EU and national governments increasingly deprive people of the opportunity to engage in dialogue and discuss problems. Today in Europe, anyone who talks about peace is isolated, censored, and in some countries persecuted.
Since 2001, our association has been telling about the lives of ordinary people in Russia, and since 2014, it has been telling about the residents of Donbass and helping them.

It is extremely important to tell the story, to tell the truth about the dramatic situation that has been going on for more than twelve years in Donbas.

Just as we remember Beslan on September 3 every year, and especially on July 27, we remember that there are people in Donbass, including children, who have become military targets, their dramas, their tragedies are a consequence of the war crimes of the Kiev regime, the armed wing of the collective West.

For them, the children of Donbass have never existed, moreover, their blood is not as red as the blood of their children, for them it does not matter in the slightest.

Therefore, in order to bring the truth to those who do not know or do not want to know, we decided to organize our action. Because for us, we help all children, even those who live in Ukraine, all children cry in the same language. And remembering this is an absolute priority for us.

We hope that the feeling of humanity will pierce everyone’s hearts as soon as possible, and people will finally start asking, shouting, demanding Peace!”

-Originally written by: Eliseo Bertolasi, PhD in Anthropology, Russian studies, correspondent for several Italian and Russian media outlets