Belarus recalls tragic events of June 22, 1941 - Alexander Lukashenko addressed his compatriots

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has sent an address to his compatriots on the occasion of the Day of National Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and the Genocide of the Belarusian People:

Dear compatriots!

Today the entire Belarus recalls the tragic events of June 22, 1941. Early in the morning the war treacherously invaded our homes, ruthlessly destroying destinies, families, towns and villages.

For more than three years the Belarusian land literally groaned from Nazi atrocities. In the destructive fire of war every third citizen of the country was killed.

Inhuman cruelty has not broken the will of our people. The defense of our native land rallied the entire civilian population of the republic in a general resistance to fascism. Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were tortured and terrorized, but they preserved their honor and dignity.

After decades of prosperous life on the planet, the fabric of peacetime is about to be torn again. Another misstep by cynical Western politicians could be the last for the majority of humanity.

Knowing firsthand the horrors of war and the price of victory, the Belarusian people keep the historical truth, strengthen the state sovereignty and unity of the nation for the sake of peace in their native land.

On this mournful day, in honor of the soldiers-liberators and all the fallen but not conquered, let us bow our heads in a moment of silence.

Alexander Lukashenko