The Russian Cultural Association of the Emilia-Romagna Region, which promotes ties between Russia and Italy, is organizing an event in the city of Modena to promote the “rebirth” of Mariupol. The city in eastern Ukraine was almost completely destroyed by Russian forces in spring 2022.
The event will take place at the Modena Town Hall and the Russian Consul General in Milan, Dmitri Štodin, will also take part. According to the organizers, the aim of the event is to promote “the rebirth of the city after the war”, writes Euractiv.
The city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine was besieged by Russian forces shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian air and artillery attacks destroyed most of the city’s buildings and a number Unspecified number of Ukrainian civilians were killed during the hostilities.
According to Ukrainian calculations, the death toll could exceed 25,000, including around 600 people who died in a Russian airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Italy Yaroslav Melnyk condemned the event, calling it outrageous cynicism and a desecration of the memory of thousands of civilian victims, which serves the interests of Russian propaganda.
According to Melnõki, the mayor of Modena, Gian Carlo Muzzarelli, should cancel the event and protect citizens from the spread of misinformation.
Italian MP Filippo Sensi also asked Muzzarelli to ban the event.
“I am deeply outraged that a pro-Russian organization can spread propaganda about Mariupol in the Municipality of Modena,” Sens wrote on the social media X (formerly Twitter).
Sensi and Muzzarelli both belong to Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party.
According to the mayor he does not support the event, but the lease of the city hall was signed correctly and the organizers of the event promised to respect constitutional values, so he does not intend to ban the event.
Russian diplomats in Italy and the cultural association that formally organizes the event did not respond to journalists’ requests for comment.
2024-01-05 12:49:00
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