Two sisters were arrested for twerking on fallen Ukrainian soldiers’ graves, right next to their own father’s burial site, in Kyiv last Thursday. They now face up to 5 years in prison. The act was filmed and posted online, with the clip going viral. People were quick to notice that the vile act took place on Ukraine’s Independence Day.
It has since been deleted, but clearly showed the pictures of two soldiers at their burial site, surrounded by flowers. Before they began dancing, the women reported that their father was a Ukrainian soldier who had been slain in the war with Russia.
The sisters took to social media to apologize for their actions and acknowledge that they “regretted” their decision but at the time “did not see anything wrong,” apparently thinking their father would have appreciated their suggestive dance moves.
“My sister and I want to apologize to everyone, apologize for our thoughtless video. It was absolutely not our aim to denigrate anyone, least of all the memory of our fallen heroes,” read one sister’s Instagram story.
The account belonged to username @vl_lindemann, although it is unclear which of the sisters actually wrote the statement. “We understand that our actions had no place where our father is buried with other fallen defenders of Ukraine. We are sincerely sorry and ask you to forgive our stupidity.” She continued, “We completely understand how shameful our act appears, and we are now ashamed. Please forgive us for this horrible mistake.”
The Kyiv police statement read: “As it became known, two sisters came to the Forest Cemetery and decided to ‘honor’ the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine in this way.”
“Investigators of the Desnyan police department, in agreement with the district prosecutor’s office, started criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Article 297 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — insult to the grave,” the post read in Ukrainian.” They continued, “The issue of notifying them of suspicion is being resolved. Suspects face restriction of liberty for a period of three to five years or deprivation of liberty for the same period.”
The Ukrainian sisters were arrested and booked less than an hour after officials were first made aware of the infamous footage. They have yet to be publicly identified.
