Dear compatriots!

Please, accept my sincere congratulations on February 23, the Day of Defender of the Motherland! For our country, it is a special holiday. Today, the residents of our Republic are fighting for freedom and independence by force of arms. We are fighting and winning! A part of every resident of the Donetsk People's Republic is important in this national struggle.

On this day, I would like to congratulate and thank for the service not only soldiers protecting our borders. I thank all the residents of Donbass, patriots of the Russian world, who have remained faithful to their land, their homeland, and their history. The work of logistics workers, teachers, doctors, public utilities, all those who have not obeyed the criminal Nazi regime that came to power in Kiev, is very important for the Donetsk People's Republic. Today, all of us, each in his place, are defending the ideals of justice, freedom and equality. And I'm sure that God is with us, the truth is with us, which means that we will win!

On February 23, it is a custom to congratulate the men. But we can not avoid remembering on this day our heroic women who, equally to men, have stood up to defend our homeland. Hundreds of representatives of the fairer sex are in the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of Donetsk. Daily risking their lives, our sisters, wives, mothers perform miracles of courage and dedication. In particular, last year, for the first time in our country, the star of the Hero of the People's Republic of Donetsk was awarded to a woman, Ekaterina Panfilova, who had carried, on their fragile shoulders, hundreds of wounded soldiers of our army from the battlefield.

For us, the Day of Defender of the Motherland, as well as the Victory Day, is a holiday with tears in our eyes. Unfortunately, the war takes the best. Our friends and comrades die. On this day, I would like to pay tribute to all those who gave their lives for the future of the Donetsk People's Republic. We bow deeply  to you. Your feat, your sacrifice will not be forgotten by our descendants... 

Dear fellow countrymen, on this festive day, I wish all of you good health, great happiness and well-being in the life! Let your homes always be full of welfare, and your hearts of harmony, and let above our Motherland be only the peaceful sky! 

Congratulations!

The Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic

Alexander Zakharchenko

According to: Новости Донецкой Республики