It has been 33 years of the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afganistan. The war in Afghanistan lasted for nine years and involved almost 13,000 Moldovans. Today, the compatriots who died in that war are commemorated in Chisinau, IPN reports.

“They went there because it was their military duty to do so. They fought because their superiors ordered them to. The young people went to do their military service in times of peace, but became soldiers in a foreign war - young people from Moldova’s villages and towns who only started living,” said President Maia Sandu.

The official noted the lesson of the Afghan war is simple: no one emerges victorious in a military competition, while peace means a guarantee of life and of development of the country and the people. “It is an important truth primarily now that we look with profound concern at the situation in the region. I want to thank the veterans for their stoicism and civic engagement during these 33 years and to urge them to continue being the messengers of peace,” says President Sandu’s message transmitted on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance.

Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu laid flowers at the memorial complex “Sons of the Homeland - Eternal Memory” and at commemorative plaques while the names of the 301 Moldovans who died in the war in Afghanistan were being read. The participants in the event observed a moment’s silence.

The Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan on February 15, 1989. The Day of Remembrance for those who died in that war was instituted in Moldova by a Parliament decision in 2011.