A ceremonial inauguration of a memorial tablet bearing the names of the on-duty national guards who perished in the civil disorder nearby the Parliament house on August 31, 2015
Ihor Debrin, Dmytro Slastnikov, Bohdan Datsiuk and Oleksandr Kostyna are names of the guards of the National Guard of Ukraine who were slain in the line of duty near the Vekhovna Rada of Ukraine on August 31, 2015.
On November 15, 2016 the Parliament decided to perpetuate their memory by placing a commemorative plaque in honour of them.
To pay the tribute to the fatalities, there came the Parliament’s tops, representatives from the National Guard of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, MPs, the relatives and fellow guards of the lost.
Participants of the memorial events paid due homage to the memory of the slain guards with a minute's silence; the military units ceremonially marched past the tablet escorted by the regimental wind band.
In his address of honour, Andriy Parubiy stressed the Guard became one of the first units to stand up for Ukraine’s eastern borders. “It was my privilege to have a hand in formation of the National Guard of Ukraine, that is why these feelings and emotions about the lost are so close to me, too,” said the Chairman of the Parliament. “The tragedy that took place here resulting in the guards’ deaths, here in Kyiv, not at the distant front line – it is yet another food for thought making all of us remember that the struggle for Ukraine, protection of our citizens is a matter of everyday concern throughout the country, in the east and even in Kyiv, too”.
“We are paying today the tribute of respect to the foursome lost at the battle station protecting state, law, dignity and security of citizens; the four who laid their lives for the country’s sake in order to let it progress and curb the aggressor. Paying the honour, we must remember their sacrifice urges us all to pursue the goals of the State, the objectives of the National Guard of Ukraine,” stressed Andriy Parubiy.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his condolences to the relatives of the lost in the then August action, and assured them that “we all together shall do our utmost to win this eternal battle – this is our commitment, this is our pledge”.