Germany lifts ban on hoisting Ukrainian flags near Soviet memorial

An administrative court in Berlin removed the ban on raising of Ukrainian flags and the playing and singing of Ukrainian military songs close to Soviet memorials on May 8 and 9, which is marked as victory day of World War II.

On Saturday, Berlin police announced that they will not challenge the judgment. Russian flags, however, are still prohibited.

The ban was put in place on Friday for flags of both Russia and Ukraine, for safety reasons. Mock military clothes and the orange-and-black St. George ribbons, a famous WWII victory emblem in Russia, were also outlawed.

Kiev’s ambassadors and the local Ukrainian community promptly denounced the decision to forbid the Ukrainian flag.

The ban was contested and overturned on Friday night by the Ukrainian organisation ‘Vitsche’, which has members who reside in Germany.

According to the court’s own words, the administrative court “has confirmed our legal position that the ban of the Ukrainian flag is obviously unlawfull,” said Patrick Heinemann, the group’s attorney.

Police, he claimed, “lacked any evidence to assume a threat to public safety” as a result of the flag’s display.
There are numerous World War II memorials in Berlin, notably the well-known Soviet monument in Treptower Park, a popular gathering place on Victory Day.

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