Two Ukrainian sisters recorded themselves dancing and twerking in minimal clothing on soldiers' graves, including their late father's, in a Kiev cemetery on Ukraine's Independence Day (August 24).
Their footage went viral, leading to potential five-year prison sentences on charges of desecrating the graves.
The sisters, whose names remain undisclosed, visited their father's grave, claiming he was killed defending Ukraine from a Russian invasion near Isium. They set up a camera and commenced dancing. Dressed in crop tops, shorts, and crocs. They arranged the camera, stepped back, and began dancing amid the flower-adorned graves of two soldiers at Forrest Cemetery, with images of fallen soldiers and a Ukrainian flag appearing in the video.
Kyiv police, upon learning of the viral dance, arrested the sisters within an hour. The sisters were wearing the same outfits as seen in the video when they were apprehended, as shown in their arrest photos.
"We apologize for our stupidity," they said.
"Investigators from the Desanyan police, in collaboration with the district prosecutor's office, initiated criminal proceedings under part 2 of Article 297 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - insult to graves. The female suspects may face a sentence of three to five years or deprivation of liberty for the same period," stated the post in Ukrainian.
The sisters later took to Instagram to admit their mistake
In a written statement, they explained that they initially believed their late father would appreciate their provocative prank since he did not value burial customs.
"My sister and I want to apologize to everyone for our thoughtless video. Our goal was never to hurt anyone, especially not the memory of our fallen heroes," they stated in a joint photo statement published on the @vl_lindemann Instagram account, where the controversial video was also initially posted.
"We understand that our actions were inappropriate, especially in the place where our father rests alongside other defenders of Ukraine. We are genuinely sorry and ask for forgiveness for our foolishness."
Later, all the content on the channel was deleted, except for this apology.