08 September 2013, 08:00
To the participants of the Great Patriotic War,
citizens of Donetsk Oblast
Dear friends!
I sincerely congratulate you on the memorable date - the 70th liberation anniversary of Donbas from fascist invaders.
September 8, 1943 has become an unforgettable and happy day – troops of the Northern and South-Western front-lines liberated the Donetsk Basin, an important coal and industrial area of the country, from fascist invaders and regained regional center of Donetsk.
On this memorable day we bow low before bright memory of those who defended freedom and independence of the Homeland! Their names will forever be inscribed in golden letters in the heroic chronicles of the war against the enemy.
We express gratitude to you, dear defenders of the Homeland, to the generation of our fathers and mothers who granted us the opportunity to live and work in the free country. Thank you!
I am confident that your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will proudly keep the memory of the heroes of the Great War.
With all my heart I wish my compatriots good health, creative inspiration and domestic harmony.
Volodymyr Rybak