Two Ukrainian servicemen who died from wounds sustained on the front lines were honored during a farewell ceremony at the Melsbroek military airfield in Belgium, the country's Defense Minister Theo Franken said.
"Together with CHOD Vansina and the Ukrainian ambassador, this morning I took part in a farewell ceremony for two Ukrainian soldiers at the military airport of Melsbroek," Franken said on X social media platform.
According to him, earlier this week, the Ukrainian soldiers died at a Belgian burn center from injuries sustained on the front lines. Belgian surgeons and nurses tried to save their lives.
"Oleksii was barely 25, Serhii 38," the minister said.
Franken called on people to remember the two soldiers, their sacrifice for Ukraine's freedom, and the grief of their families: "This is the true, ugly face of the war that Putin has unleashed on Ukraine, a war that the Ukrainian people never asked for and bear no guilt for whatsoever."
"May the people of Ukraine soon be granted a just peace, one that leaves them free and sovereign in the territory they have managed to defend. Until that day comes, our country will continue to support them unconditionally in their just struggle for freedom," Franken said.
