03:50Ukraine: WWII veteran recounts being doused in 'Zelyonka' on Victory Day
WWII veteran Lydmila Pechko was attacked and doused with Zelyonka by several Ukrainian nationalists during a Victory Day parade in the eastern city of Sloviansk, May 9, Pechko recounted the attack to journalists in an interview filmed on Thursday. She lamented how, after seeing the attack televised, her sister suffered a heart attack and subsequently died.
She said, "My sister [Lyubov Pechko] saw on the TV how I had been assaulted and as the result she got a heart attack. On May 9 we called the police and emergency service. They entered through the window [to Lyubov Pechko's apartment] and found her body," she said.
The veteran went into detail about how the attack, which was filmed on May 9, occurred. She was walking with other veterans when suddenly the column was stopped. "We heard someone's command to stop. Suddenly one threw eggs in the face. One of the eggs hit the face of a woman beside me and she began to wipe the egg off her face with a tissue. A few seconds later I felt something like water or alcohol poured into my face. I thought it was vodka and just wiped my face. But when I returned to the other veterans, I realised that it was 'Zelyonka'," Lydmila Pechko said.
"I worked, studied, took part in social activities, helped elderly people to get pensions and arrange all the documents for that, and accompanied them everywhere. But despite all that I got such a 'gift' on the Victory Day."
The veteran also stressed that Ukrainian Social Democratic Party leader, Natalia Korolevska, helped her to wipe a green antiseptic off her face.
Zelyonka is a bright green antiseptic, which has a permanent dyeing effect when bound to fabric or skin. It can be toxic when ingested.
03:50WWII veteran Lydmila Pechko was attacked and doused with Zelyonka by several Ukrainian nationalists during a Victory Day parade in the eastern city of Sloviansk, May 9, Pechko recounted the attack to journalists in an interview filmed on Thursday. She lamented how, after seeing the attack televised, her sister suffered a heart attack and subsequently died.
She said, "My sister [Lyubov Pechko] saw on the TV how I had been assaulted and as the result she got a heart attack. On May 9 we called the police and emergency service. They entered through the window [to Lyubov Pechko's apartment] and found her body," she said.
The veteran went into detail about how the attack, which was filmed on May 9, occurred. She was walking with other veterans when suddenly the column was stopped. "We heard someone's command to stop. Suddenly one threw eggs in the face. One of the eggs hit the face of a woman beside me and she began to wipe the egg off her face with a tissue. A few seconds later I felt something like water or alcohol poured into my face. I thought it was vodka and just wiped my face. But when I returned to the other veterans, I realised that it was 'Zelyonka'," Lydmila Pechko said.
"I worked, studied, took part in social activities, helped elderly people to get pensions and arrange all the documents for that, and accompanied them everywhere. But despite all that I got such a 'gift' on the Victory Day."
The veteran also stressed that Ukrainian Social Democratic Party leader, Natalia Korolevska, helped her to wipe a green antiseptic off her face.
Zelyonka is a bright green antiseptic, which has a permanent dyeing effect when bound to fabric or skin. It can be toxic when ingested.