Bike Ride "Ukraine is Europe" Held in the Netherlands to Celebrate the Day of Liberation from the Nazis

This weekend, the Netherlands celebrated the annual public holiday of the Liberation Day from Nazi occupation. This was reported by an Ukrinform correspondent in the Netherlands.

On 5 May, commemorative events, concerts, festivals and freedom lunches are held across the country on the occasion of the Day of Liberation from Nazi occupation in 1945. The Dutch flag is also hoisted on this day, symbolising the freedom and independence of the Netherlands. Government officials and members of the royal family take part in the celebrations.

Ambassador of Ukraine to the Netherlands Olexander Karasevych also took part in the events in Wageningen, where Germany signed the surrender documents in 1945.

It is worth noting that the commemoration ceremony includes the Freedom Parade, which is a traditional parade honouring liberators and veterans. This year, the orchestra of the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv took part in the parade.

In addition, a solidarity bike ride "Ukraine is Europe" was held in The Hague to commemorate the memory of those who died for the country's freedom and independence, and at the same time to remind that today the struggle for freedom in Ukraine is ongoing every day.

The event was supported by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands, the Embassy of Lithuania in the Netherlands, the Vataga Foundation and the ABBA (Adriatic-Baltic-Black-Azov Seas) student association.

"The idea of this race belongs to Guste Ramonaite, a representative of the Lithuanian student association. We do a lot together with representatives of the Baltic countries, and we will definitely continue. Lithuania became a member of the European Union on 1 May, and it has been constantly calling on the EU to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession. That's why the main slogan of the bike ride was "Ukraine is Europe," Uliana Bun, co-founder of the Vataga Foundation, told Ukrinform.

Representatives of the Ukrainian community in Zwolle and the surrounding area also took part in the festival. Bandura players Natalia Slobodianiuk and her daughters Dominika and Daniela performed on the Wereldpaviljoen stage.

As a reminder, Nazi troops invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Five days later, the Dutch army surrendered. Queen Wilhelmina and some politicians left for London. They formed a government in exile.

In the spring of 1945, military units from Canada, Great Britain, and Poland entered the Netherlands from the east. On 5 May 1945, the Netherlands was liberated from Nazi occupation.