Two sisters, whose father died while defending Ukraine against the Russian invasion, are at risk of being jailed after filming a video of themselves dancing and twerking near the graves of soldiers who lost their lives. The video sparked immense criticism, prompting the sisters to defend themselves by suggesting their martyred father would have found their antics funny.
However, the two sisters later admitted their mistake and admitted that the video was inappropriate. Police confirmed that the two unnamed girls will be formally charged with the offense of grave desecration and could now face up to five years in prison.
Dancing on Their Graves
Video captured on a mobile phone shows the two youthful sisters, wearing black crop tops and snug-fitting shorts, doing a dance between the space separating soldiers' graves, adorned with flowers and the Ukrainian flag.
One of the girls can be first seen placing her phone on the ground to capture footage beside the soldiers' graves. Subsequently, she commences a swaying motion with her arms raised.
Her sister, who seems to be engaged in a conversation on her phone, then joins in and is seen twerking in front of the recording device.
This bizarre performance unfolded during their visit to their father's resting place at Kyiv's Forest Cemetery on August 24.
Their father was reportedly a soldier in the 95th Brigade of Ukraine's Armed Forces and lost his life near Izium in the Donetsk region located in the eastern part of the country.
In the Line of Fire
The video came to the attention of the local police after the girls posted it on Instagram, leading to a significant public backlash.
Ukrainian law enforcement soon identified and tracked the sisters within a span of less than an hour and detained them.
In response to the intense negative reaction, one of the sisters took to social media to express regret and offer an apology. She wrote: "My sister and I apologize. We honor every fallen soldier for our homeland.
"We visited the grave of our fallen father, who died near Izium. Unfortunately, it was not very correct to post this kind of video, although we did not intend to defame heroes."
The sister mentioned that she and her sister believed their late father would have perceived the video and their dancing as something amusing.
"Our behavior was connected to our understanding of our late father's perspective on burial customs," she said, adding, "So we didn't see anything wrong at the time, but now we regret it."
The Ukrainian authorities are currently in the process of conducting an investigation into the incident.
