Kiev Ban on St. George Ribbons to Legitimize Actions of Neo-Nazis

The decision by the Ukrainian parliament to ban Russia's St. George's ribbon in the country will legitimize the actions of neo-Nazis on desecrating history and means the official "fascization" of the country, Deputy Speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament Irina Yarovaya said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Verkhovna Rada passed earlier on Tuesday a bill that introduces administrative punishment, including fines or arrests, for manufacturing and wearing of St. George's ribbons in Ukraine. The explanatory note to the law states that since 2014 the St. George's ribbon has been used by "pro-Russian separatists on the territory of Ukraine and became a symbol of separatism in Ukraine."

"The prohibition of the St. George ribbon at the state level means official fascization since the main goal pursued… by the Ukrainian government in such immoral ways is to legitimize the actions of neo-Nazis and nationalists in desecrating historical memory and denying the outcomes of the Second World War, confirmed by the Nuremberg trials," Yarovaya stressed.

According to the lawmaker, Europe's calm regarding Ukraine's "lawlessness increasingly devalued European security."

On the same day as the ban on the St. George's ribbons, Ukraine expanded sanctions against Russia. The new sanctions list includes 1,228 individuals and 468 legal entities, including the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, TV channels Zvezda, TVC, NTV Plus, RenTV, RBC as well as social networks VK (VKontakte), Odnoklassniki and the Mail.ru internet service.