On October 13, 2020, a day before the Defender of Ukraine Day – the holiday celebrated in Ukraine on October 14, when it is also celebrated the Christian Orthodox holiday of Intercession of the Holy Virgin as well as the Day of Ukrainian Cossacks – the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Lithuania together with Ukrainian community in Lithuania started a tradition of tying ribbons and laying flowers at crosses installed to honour Ukrainian servicemen on the Hill of Crosses, the sacred place of Lithuania near Siauliai city.
The event was attended by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania Volodymyr Yatsenkivskyi, the Vice Mayor of the city of Siauliai Domas Griškevičius, the leadership and members of the Siauliai Ukrainian community "Carpathians", charitable organizations and media, as well as diplomats of the Embassy.
The priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in Vilnius, Father Tadei Godovanets (the Order of St. Basil the Great), prayed for peace in Ukraine, for the health of living defenders of the Ukrainian State.
The attendees honoured memory of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers with a moment of silence.
The tradition of installing memorial crosses by servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who undergo medical rehabilitation in Lithuania, was initiated on April 19, 2017, by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Lithuania and supported by the Military Rehabilitation Centre of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in Druskininkai – a medical institution where Ukrainian heroes undergo medical rehabilitation. 29 memorial crosses have been installed up to now.
The Hill of Crosses is a memorial to the victims of the violent deportations from Lithuania carried out by the Soviet totalitarian regime. According to various sources, from 50 to 100 thousand crosses have been installed there.
During the event the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania V.Yatsenkivskyi also met with the leadership and active members of the Siauliai Ukrainian community and discussed issues of further cooperation.
The Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania V. Yatsenkivskyi gave an interview to the Siauliai regional television: https://cutt.ly/bgfW7Q
Information about the event was also published on the official website of the Siauliai City Hall: https://www.siauliai.lt/index.php?122510106