"The iftar with the participation of the president became a bridge for strengthening ties" - Seyran Aryfov

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the iftar together with Ukrainian Muslim soldiers, representatives of the Muslim clergy and the Muslim community of Ukraine. The head of the Council of Ukrainian Muslims Seyran Aryfov also shared dinner with the head of state.

The event took place on the territory of the Crimean Tatar cultural center “Birlik” in the Kyiv Oblast.

As Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized, Ukraine will always remember the heroism of those who fight for freedom and security on all Ukrainian lands.

"Unfortunately, evil, humiliation, repression, murder, war reigns on the land of Crimea now, under the Russian tricolor... But there, where the path of evil began, is where victory awaits us, victory over this evil. The de-occupation of Crimea is nonalternative not only for Ukraine, but also for the whole world,” - the president said.

According to him, while respecting the territorial integrity of all states of the world, Ukraine expects respect for its own territorial integrity as well — from Polesia to the coast of the Black and Azov Seas, after all each of our people deserves to live freely:

“This is what we fight for, this is what our people pray for. We will return to Crimea, and then peace will return to the world, because the aggressor will lose. <...> The victory of our state, of each of us, the victory of Ukraine will mean the victory of life — the life of all of us, all Ukrainians, of absolutely all denominations, of different origins, but with one dream and one faith — faith in goodness."

According to Seyran Aryfov, for Muslims, iftar became a bridge to strengthen ties between the country's leadership and the Muslim community:

“There (at the iftar. — Ed.) gathered Muslim military servicemen who are defending our country during the Russian aggression. It is significant that among those present there were completely different nationalities, without a hint of division. Obviously, this event was quite limited. The reason for this is the large number of Muslims who worthily defend the independence of Ukraine, but it is physically impossible to collect all of them for the award.”

Those present observed a moment of silence in memory of those who gave their lives defending the Ukrainian state and its citizens.

The head of the Council of Ukrainian Muslims noted the historicity of the event:

“I hope that we will have this type of iftar as an annual tradition. This is a big step on the part of the president. It was a good decision to combine the iftar with the awarding of Muslim soldiers.”