"The Congress of Azerbaijanis in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is one of the largest diasporas operating on the territory of Ukraine. Personally, based on the events of the last eight months, I can say that it is impossible to differentiate the Azerbaijanis living in Ukraine from Ukrainians," Dnipropetrovsk Oblast MP, Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier Maxim Kuryachiy told Report.
Some had to leave Azerbaijan and move to Ukraine 30 years ago, and those people became full-fledged members of Ukrainian society, citizens of Ukraine. They share the same joys and sorrows as us. We are also experiencing the present pain together. After Russia's occupational intervention in Ukraine in 2014, and especially after the start of a large-scale war in 2022, the Azerbaijani diaspora in Dnipropetrovsk stood shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people.
Kuryachiy noted that some of them voluntarily went to the front, and unfortunately, some of them died.
"They are our heroes. The names of these heroes are engraved in golden letters in the history of Ukraine. Some chose to volunteer. In essence, this is a people's war. It is impossible to win over the people. Those who could not hold a gun got behind the wheel and showed their help in this way. They carried out the transportation of displaced persons. Some lost their homes," the MP said.
He emphasized that the region has always been one of the pillars of Ukrainian statehood: "We are located in the center of Ukraine and are the 'heart' of this country. Since the first day of the war, Dnipropetrovsk has played the role of a powerful humanitarian, medical and military hub. The enemy is shelling the territory of our province. The southern part of the province suffers more from these attacks. People die due to the enemy firing on energy facilities and densely populated civilian facilities. But Dnipropetrovsk manages to stand. We will endure because we are fighting for ourselves, our lives, our freedom, our Ukraine. For that, we just need to be united. I am proud that today the multi-ethnic Ukrainian people, including our Azerbaijani brothers who consider this their 'second homeland', are fighting shoulder to shoulder, so I am sure we will definitely win."