A rally-requiem dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of Soldiers-Internationalists was held in Vitebsk
February 15 is both a holiday for "Afghan" veterans, as it was on this day 33 years ago that the war in Afghanistan ended for Soviet servicemen, and a Day of Remembrance and sorrow for all fallen internationalist soldiers.
To honor the memory of the fallen and lay flowers at the "Pain" memorial complex, "Afghan" soldiers, veterans of local wars, families of the fallen, deputies, heads and representatives of local authorities, work collectives, public organizations, as well as current paratroopers and cadets of the Vitebsk Cadet School came.
– The further the events of the war in Afghanistan recede into the past, the stronger the memory becomes and the clearer the feat accomplished by the internationalist soldiers is perceived. Even then, they were able to stop terrorism and drug trafficking and honorably fulfilled their civic duty, – noted the Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies, Vladimir Terentyev. – Unfortunately, every year there are fewer participants in the events in Afghanistan, but no one is forgotten. Over the past few years alone, the names of 44 "Afghan" heroes have been immortalized on memorial plaques in the Vitebsk region, and 20 streets and 4 schools are named after internationalist soldiers.
The rally also heard speeches from the Chairman of the regional organization of the NGO "Belarusian Union of Veterans of the War in Afghanistan" Valerian Matskevich, the Military Commissar of the Vitebsk Region, Colonel Ruslan Shkodin, and the First Secretary of the Regional Committee of the BRSM, Vladimir Babichev.
The event concluded with a moment of silence, during which the names of all 160 natives of the Vitebsk region who gave their lives while fulfilling their international duty were read out. To the sounds of the national anthem, a salute of volleys was also fired.
