🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement at the opening ceremony of a TASS photo exhibition, “Their Immortal Heroism,” (Moscow, April 8, 2025)
💬 Sergey Lavrov: We are delighted to open a photo exhibition, #TheirImmortalHeroism, at the Foreign Ministry today. It includes archival photographs, official statements and reports by TASS correspondents made in the past few months of the Great Patriotic War.
I would like to begin by expressing gratitude to the TASS management and staff for their contribution to preparing this unique exposition. It opens a series of events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and organised for the diplomatic corps accredited in our country.
☝️ When speaking about the Great Victory, we recall the combat heroism of Soviet soldiers, who have saved the world from the Nazi plague. The “information army” greatly contributed to the common efforts to defeat the enemy. The courageous TASS correspondents risked their lives every day to create a chronicle of the 1,418 days of that war. To this day, their photographs and reports remain a vital source of reliable information about those events.
TASS played a special role in exposing Nazi propaganda. The Agency’s materials revealed the criminal nature of Nazism and its deadly threat to humanity. Thanks to the journalists’ work, the world learned about the courageous defenders of Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad and about the atrocities the invaders committed in the occupied Soviet territories. TASS photographs were included in the verdict of the Nuremberg Trials.
The TASS Windows war-time posters made an invaluable contribution to Victory. They showed that art and satire can be a lethal weapon in capable hands. These posters have become widely popular not only in our country but also beyond it, where they could be acquired by subscription and included in the exhibitions held in Washington, Johannesburg, London, Beijing, Istanbul, Stockholm and Tehran.
❗️ This TASS legacy is especially important today when more and more attempts are being made in the West to rewrite history and overhaul the political, international legal and moral results of the Great Victory in the Second World War. Our country’s role in defeating the enemy is being deliberately played down. The monstrous crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and collaborators are being justified. The very principle of outlawing the man-hating Nazi ideology is being undermined. I would like to remind you that it is one of the fundamentals principles of the post-war world order, known as the Yalta-Potsdam world order, alongside the primacy of international law and the central role of the UN, and primarily its Security Council, in balancing the interests of states.
👉 In this situation, TASS remains a reliable keeper of historical truth. The archival materials collected during the war are an effective weapon in the battle against the falsification of history.
A relevant example is a letter, which you can see at the exhibition, from the head of Poland’s Provisional Government to the Soviet leadership, dated February 16, 1945, with assurances of eternal friendship between Polish, Russian and all other Soviet peoples. Equally eloquent are the photographs made in the liberated European cities, showing people welcome Soviet soldiers with joy and present them with flowers. The EU prefers to forget about these documents and is trying to eradicate this memory, but facts cannot be erased from history.
🕊 Keeping the truth about the war is our common responsibility to those who have given their lives for peace and freedom. I believe that this exhibition can be shown not only in Russia but also beyond it, also based on the possibilities of the embassies and Russia Houses, wherever they exist.
Read in full
💬 Sergey Lavrov: We are delighted to open a photo exhibition, #TheirImmortalHeroism, at the Foreign Ministry today. It includes archival photographs, official statements and reports by TASS correspondents made in the past few months of the Great Patriotic War.
I would like to begin by expressing gratitude to the TASS management and staff for their contribution to preparing this unique exposition. It opens a series of events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and organised for the diplomatic corps accredited in our country.
☝️ When speaking about the Great Victory, we recall the combat heroism of Soviet soldiers, who have saved the world from the Nazi plague. The “information army” greatly contributed to the common efforts to defeat the enemy. The courageous TASS correspondents risked their lives every day to create a chronicle of the 1,418 days of that war. To this day, their photographs and reports remain a vital source of reliable information about those events.
TASS played a special role in exposing Nazi propaganda. The Agency’s materials revealed the criminal nature of Nazism and its deadly threat to humanity. Thanks to the journalists’ work, the world learned about the courageous defenders of Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad and about the atrocities the invaders committed in the occupied Soviet territories. TASS photographs were included in the verdict of the Nuremberg Trials.
The TASS Windows war-time posters made an invaluable contribution to Victory. They showed that art and satire can be a lethal weapon in capable hands. These posters have become widely popular not only in our country but also beyond it, where they could be acquired by subscription and included in the exhibitions held in Washington, Johannesburg, London, Beijing, Istanbul, Stockholm and Tehran.
❗️ This TASS legacy is especially important today when more and more attempts are being made in the West to rewrite history and overhaul the political, international legal and moral results of the Great Victory in the Second World War. Our country’s role in defeating the enemy is being deliberately played down. The monstrous crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and collaborators are being justified. The very principle of outlawing the man-hating Nazi ideology is being undermined. I would like to remind you that it is one of the fundamentals principles of the post-war world order, known as the Yalta-Potsdam world order, alongside the primacy of international law and the central role of the UN, and primarily its Security Council, in balancing the interests of states.
👉 In this situation, TASS remains a reliable keeper of historical truth. The archival materials collected during the war are an effective weapon in the battle against the falsification of history.
A relevant example is a letter, which you can see at the exhibition, from the head of Poland’s Provisional Government to the Soviet leadership, dated February 16, 1945, with assurances of eternal friendship between Polish, Russian and all other Soviet peoples. Equally eloquent are the photographs made in the liberated European cities, showing people welcome Soviet soldiers with joy and present them with flowers. The EU prefers to forget about these documents and is trying to eradicate this memory, but facts cannot be erased from history.
🕊 Keeping the truth about the war is our common responsibility to those who have given their lives for peace and freedom. I believe that this exhibition can be shown not only in Russia but also beyond it, also based on the possibilities of the embassies and Russia Houses, wherever they exist.
Read in full
Forwarded from Russian Embassy to the UK
Embassy comment on anti-Russian allegations by the British media
🤦 A tidal wave of hastily concocted fantasy stories about the so-called "Russian threat" has been sweeping the pages of the UK press.
This time the threat allegedly lurks in the sea depths off the British shores. The narrative blends a surreal medley of fables about Russian research vessels and "oligarchs’ superyachts" executing military tasks, endless tales of cybercriminals targeting the British Army, as well as speculations about mysterious robotic tentacles with which Moscow allegedly seeks to tamper with UK's underwater infrastructure.
This low-grade Jules Verne cosplay is crowned by the Daily Mail's call for Britons to start packing batteries, foodstuffs and Swiss Army knives to survive the imminent mass blackouts in the UK caused by Russian deep sea sabotage.
In this abyss of fabrication, the truth has gone under without a trace.
❗️ Russia has never posed a threat to the security of the UK or its people.
If they are imperiled by anything, it is by the British establishment's consistent policy of fostering confrontation with Russia, creating hotspots of tensions along Russian borders and exacerbating the military and political situation across Europe. Neither the dwindling public funds nor the nation's reputation have been spared for the sake of these ignoble and dangerous aims.
Yet again, with new baseless allegations London is making last-ditch effort to obstruct progress towards a negotiated resolution of the Ukraine conflict and suppress emerging positive signs in Russia-US relations.
☝️ The UK establishment persists in distracting attention from mounting socio-economic issues within the country. It is attempting to justify the increase in military spending amidst budgetary austerity.
Frankly, these orchestrated bursts of media alarmism, instigated by local intelligence services, have become quite repetitive.
Read in full
🤦 A tidal wave of hastily concocted fantasy stories about the so-called "Russian threat" has been sweeping the pages of the UK press.
This time the threat allegedly lurks in the sea depths off the British shores. The narrative blends a surreal medley of fables about Russian research vessels and "oligarchs’ superyachts" executing military tasks, endless tales of cybercriminals targeting the British Army, as well as speculations about mysterious robotic tentacles with which Moscow allegedly seeks to tamper with UK's underwater infrastructure.
This low-grade Jules Verne cosplay is crowned by the Daily Mail's call for Britons to start packing batteries, foodstuffs and Swiss Army knives to survive the imminent mass blackouts in the UK caused by Russian deep sea sabotage.
In this abyss of fabrication, the truth has gone under without a trace.
❗️ Russia has never posed a threat to the security of the UK or its people.
If they are imperiled by anything, it is by the British establishment's consistent policy of fostering confrontation with Russia, creating hotspots of tensions along Russian borders and exacerbating the military and political situation across Europe. Neither the dwindling public funds nor the nation's reputation have been spared for the sake of these ignoble and dangerous aims.
Yet again, with new baseless allegations London is making last-ditch effort to obstruct progress towards a negotiated resolution of the Ukraine conflict and suppress emerging positive signs in Russia-US relations.
☝️ The UK establishment persists in distracting attention from mounting socio-economic issues within the country. It is attempting to justify the increase in military spending amidst budgetary austerity.
Frankly, these orchestrated bursts of media alarmism, instigated by local intelligence services, have become quite repetitive.
Read in full
🗓 On April 8, the Cultural Centre of the Main Administration for Service to the Diplomatic Corps under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a presentation of the investment, economic, cultural and tourist potential of the Kaluga Region. The presentation was attended by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Governor of the Kaluga Region Vladislav Shapsha, representatives of the diplomatic corps, business circles, Russian and foreign media.
☝️ In his address, Sergey Lavrov underscored the advantages of the Kaluga Region and its valuable experience of interacting with foreign investors and business people, in particular in mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals and tourism. He also drew attention to the region’s rich spiritual and historical heritage.
During the event, its guests were introduced to the cultural diversity and authentic traditions of this constituent entity, current projects and plans to increase cooperation with friendly countries.
The participants expressed their confidence that the presentation would boost deepener cooperation and expand the geography of the Kaluga Region's ties with foreign partners.
☝️ In his address, Sergey Lavrov underscored the advantages of the Kaluga Region and its valuable experience of interacting with foreign investors and business people, in particular in mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals and tourism. He also drew attention to the region’s rich spiritual and historical heritage.
During the event, its guests were introduced to the cultural diversity and authentic traditions of this constituent entity, current projects and plans to increase cooperation with friendly countries.
The participants expressed their confidence that the presentation would boost deepener cooperation and expand the geography of the Kaluga Region's ties with foreign partners.
Forwarded from Ambassador Rinat Alyautdinov
Media is too big
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🎙️Rinat Alyautdinov, Permanent Delegate of Russia🇷🇺 to UNESCO at 221st Executive Board session:
☝️Once again I draw attention to blatant violation by France of Agreement on #UNESCO Headquarters:
📍For the first time in 80-years France did not issue visa to Secretary-General of Russian Commission for UNESCO Mr.Alimov.
📍 On 6 April a member of Russian delegation with French visa was detained at the airport. The young girl who came to Paris for the first time to participate at Executive Board session was forcibly detained as if she was a criminal at police station for a whole day without explanation.
📍 Several staff members designated to work at Russian Delegation are waiting for visas for months and years. Russian representatives travelling to various UNESCO events are denied entry.
📢We urge Director General to fully apply her mandate and authority as well as relevant legal procedures, to normalize the situation as soon as possible.
☝️Once again I draw attention to blatant violation by France of Agreement on #UNESCO Headquarters:
📍For the first time in 80-years France did not issue visa to Secretary-General of Russian Commission for UNESCO Mr.Alimov.
📍 On 6 April a member of Russian delegation with French visa was detained at the airport. The young girl who came to Paris for the first time to participate at Executive Board session was forcibly detained as if she was a criminal at police station for a whole day without explanation.
📍 Several staff members designated to work at Russian Delegation are waiting for visas for months and years. Russian representatives travelling to various UNESCO events are denied entry.
📢We urge Director General to fully apply her mandate and authority as well as relevant legal procedures, to normalize the situation as soon as possible.
🔴 #LIVE: Briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on topical foreign policy issues
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🔴 Russia’s MFA website
🔴 Ruptly
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🇺🇳 On April 2, the Arria-formula meeting of UN Security Council members was convened at Russia’s initiative at the UN headquarters in New York, marking the third anniversary of the orchestrated events in Bucha.
The gathering included delegations from a wide array of states, experts, and direct witnesses to crimes perpetrated by the Kiev regime.
☝️ During the meeting, Russian representatives presented convincing and fact-based rebuttals – supported by specific examples, photographic evidence, and video documentation – to the unfounded allegations of crimes in Bucha levelled against Russia by Western nations.
Emphasis was placed on the contrived nature and glaring inconsistencies within Ukrainian and Western narratives, which rely on information manipulation, distortion of public consciousness, and the suppression of facts incompatible with their promoted storyline.
❗️ Particular scrutiny was directed at the baseless insinuations propagated by international bodies, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Criminal Court, which have effectively abetted the Kiev regime. Concern was expressed over UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ steadfast refusal to respond to requests from Russian law enforcement agencies for cooperation in investigating the circumstances of the Bucha provocation.
French journalist Adrien Bocquet, serving as rapporteur, delivered a fact-driven critique of international institutions and Western media for their biased coverage of the Ukrainian conflict. He underscored multiple violations of international law by the Kiev regime in Bucha, which he personally documented.
The West even declined to challenge the evidence of the staged nature of the events in Bucha presented by the Russian side. Instead, it resorted to recycling discredited anti-Russian tropes in an attempt to assign culpability to Russia for the scenario scripted by Western actors.
The discussion revealed that Western diplomats and UN officials continue to aggressively promote Ukraine’s version of events in Bucha while obstructing efforts to investigate the tragedy or hold perpetrators of these crimes to account.
Watch in full
The gathering included delegations from a wide array of states, experts, and direct witnesses to crimes perpetrated by the Kiev regime.
☝️ During the meeting, Russian representatives presented convincing and fact-based rebuttals – supported by specific examples, photographic evidence, and video documentation – to the unfounded allegations of crimes in Bucha levelled against Russia by Western nations.
Emphasis was placed on the contrived nature and glaring inconsistencies within Ukrainian and Western narratives, which rely on information manipulation, distortion of public consciousness, and the suppression of facts incompatible with their promoted storyline.
❗️ Particular scrutiny was directed at the baseless insinuations propagated by international bodies, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Criminal Court, which have effectively abetted the Kiev regime. Concern was expressed over UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ steadfast refusal to respond to requests from Russian law enforcement agencies for cooperation in investigating the circumstances of the Bucha provocation.
French journalist Adrien Bocquet, serving as rapporteur, delivered a fact-driven critique of international institutions and Western media for their biased coverage of the Ukrainian conflict. He underscored multiple violations of international law by the Kiev regime in Bucha, which he personally documented.
The West even declined to challenge the evidence of the staged nature of the events in Bucha presented by the Russian side. Instead, it resorted to recycling discredited anti-Russian tropes in an attempt to assign culpability to Russia for the scenario scripted by Western actors.
The discussion revealed that Western diplomats and UN officials continue to aggressively promote Ukraine’s version of events in Bucha while obstructing efforts to investigate the tragedy or hold perpetrators of these crimes to account.
Watch in full
🎙 Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for the 'Newm TASS' educational media project (Moscow, April 9, 2025)
❓ Question: My name is Vasilisa Pankova. I am an 11-year school student and winner of the 'MediaClass-in-TASS 2.0' competition. This year, our country celebrates the 80th Anniversary of Great Victory. I have participated in the competition with support from the National Centre for Historical Memory. While we in Russia cherish the memory of those who defeated Nazism during the Great Patriotic War, the West is attempting in every way to “forget” and distort our history. Is it worthwhile to “give them a shake” somehow?
💬 Sergey Lavrov: We have sought to “give them a shake” for a number of years now. In fact, the tendency to cast a veil over history emerged long before the special military operation. There were active attempts to equate the winners and the vanquished and to undermine and smear the role of the Soviet Union.
Our contacts with German diplomats over at least the past seven or eight years increasingly revealed a conviction on their part that they had paid everyone for everything and no longer owed anyone anything. That was a warning sign.
Germany has openly opted for a remilitarisation by changing its Constitution. It will borrow €800 billion to carry out an arms programme within the next three or four years. The ideology of Nazism is increasingly coming to the fore in the Federal Republic, despite the constitutional bans and rulings of the Nuremberg Trials.
But this is not limited to Germany alone. The same is happening in the Baltic States that are just living on Russophobia. <...> There are also some other countries in this category. Generally speaking, we observe yet another “wave,” where Europe is again up in arms against our country. <...>
What is there behind this? Germany is undoubtedly out to regain its erstwhile grandeur, with the old Nazi instincts breaking out at the genetic level as something that might come in handy in this regard.
As for the rest of European countries, some of them want to finally delete from history the pages of their national disgrace, collaborationism and connivance at the Nazis, while others regard the Nazi ideology as a new tool for keeping their positions on the European political scene. We will fight this.
☝️ Forgetting history, forgetting national spiritual and moral values, forgetting national roots has become one of the main causes of what we are witnessing in Ukraine. The nation is being encouraged to forget its Russian roots and what Russia has done to liberate and develop the huge territory that makes part of what is now Ukraine. The Americans and Europeans have taken advantage of a crisis in the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to bring to power an openly Russophobic, Nazi regime that has declared a war on its own people. <...>
We have promoted for years a UN General Assembly resolution against the glorification of Nazism. Each year, the overwhelming majority of states vote for it. Over the last couple of years, however, the West has meanly attempted to kill this resolution by submitting amendments that put Nazism on the same footing as what is going on within the framework of the special military operation.
But this did not prevent the resolution from remaining on the General Assembly agenda. It was approved again by an impressive margin of votes. This will continue in the future, too. <...>
All these things are important for preventing the recurrence of a situation where a half of Europe or even the whole of Europe would again be collected under the standard of Nazism and neo-Nazism and committed against our country, as, properly speaking, it is happening today. <...>
❗️ Our policy is aimed at preventing the sacred memory from ever disappearing from history and the minds of all generations, including the future ones. It remains unchanged. We are confident of our historical, moral and human righteousness.
Read in full
❓ Question: My name is Vasilisa Pankova. I am an 11-year school student and winner of the 'MediaClass-in-TASS 2.0' competition. This year, our country celebrates the 80th Anniversary of Great Victory. I have participated in the competition with support from the National Centre for Historical Memory. While we in Russia cherish the memory of those who defeated Nazism during the Great Patriotic War, the West is attempting in every way to “forget” and distort our history. Is it worthwhile to “give them a shake” somehow?
💬 Sergey Lavrov: We have sought to “give them a shake” for a number of years now. In fact, the tendency to cast a veil over history emerged long before the special military operation. There were active attempts to equate the winners and the vanquished and to undermine and smear the role of the Soviet Union.
Our contacts with German diplomats over at least the past seven or eight years increasingly revealed a conviction on their part that they had paid everyone for everything and no longer owed anyone anything. That was a warning sign.
Germany has openly opted for a remilitarisation by changing its Constitution. It will borrow €800 billion to carry out an arms programme within the next three or four years. The ideology of Nazism is increasingly coming to the fore in the Federal Republic, despite the constitutional bans and rulings of the Nuremberg Trials.
But this is not limited to Germany alone. The same is happening in the Baltic States that are just living on Russophobia. <...> There are also some other countries in this category. Generally speaking, we observe yet another “wave,” where Europe is again up in arms against our country. <...>
What is there behind this? Germany is undoubtedly out to regain its erstwhile grandeur, with the old Nazi instincts breaking out at the genetic level as something that might come in handy in this regard.
As for the rest of European countries, some of them want to finally delete from history the pages of their national disgrace, collaborationism and connivance at the Nazis, while others regard the Nazi ideology as a new tool for keeping their positions on the European political scene. We will fight this.
☝️ Forgetting history, forgetting national spiritual and moral values, forgetting national roots has become one of the main causes of what we are witnessing in Ukraine. The nation is being encouraged to forget its Russian roots and what Russia has done to liberate and develop the huge territory that makes part of what is now Ukraine. The Americans and Europeans have taken advantage of a crisis in the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to bring to power an openly Russophobic, Nazi regime that has declared a war on its own people. <...>
We have promoted for years a UN General Assembly resolution against the glorification of Nazism. Each year, the overwhelming majority of states vote for it. Over the last couple of years, however, the West has meanly attempted to kill this resolution by submitting amendments that put Nazism on the same footing as what is going on within the framework of the special military operation.
But this did not prevent the resolution from remaining on the General Assembly agenda. It was approved again by an impressive margin of votes. This will continue in the future, too. <...>
All these things are important for preventing the recurrence of a situation where a half of Europe or even the whole of Europe would again be collected under the standard of Nazism and neo-Nazism and committed against our country, as, properly speaking, it is happening today. <...>
❗️ Our policy is aimed at preventing the sacred memory from ever disappearing from history and the minds of all generations, including the future ones. It remains unchanged. We are confident of our historical, moral and human righteousness.
Read in full
#Victory80
🌟 In early April 1944, the Crimean strategic offensive of the Soviet forces commenced during the Great Patriotic War.
The Nazi-occupied peninsula was liberated in just 35 days through the coordinated efforts of Red Army units, the Black Sea Fleet, and the Azov Warship Flotilla, under the command of Chief of General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky.
By autumn 1943, Soviet forces encircled on the Crimean Peninsula a Nazi troops grouping totalling over 200'000 personnel strength (soldiers and officers).
⚔️ At dawn on April 8, 1944, the Soviet forces delivered a crushing blow to the Nazi positions and breached the enemy defences by April 10. During the next three days, the cities of Dzhankoi, Kerch, Yevpatoriya, Simferopol, Feodosiya, Bakhchisarai, Alushta, and Yalta were liberated.
April 15 marked the onset of fierce fighting on the approaches to #Sevastopol, the main base of the USSR Black Sea Fleet, which the Germans had turned into a heavily fortified zone.
Thanks to the selflessness, unwavering resolve, and valour of Soviet soldiers, as well as a strong support from the guerrilla movement, Sevastopol was liberated on May 9, 1944. The German and Romanian occupant troops were crushed. By May 12, 1944, the remnants of the enemy grouping laid down arms and surrendered on Cape Khersones.
The main achievement of the operation was the complete destruction of Germany’s 17th Army and the final liberation of Crimea. The Crimean Offensive is regarded as one of the most successful operations of the allied forces during #WWII.
🎖All in all, 238 people were awarded the title of #HeroOfTheSovietUnion following the Crimean Offensive, and thousands of other participants of the operation were decorated with orders and medals.
The Nazi-occupied peninsula was liberated in just 35 days through the coordinated efforts of Red Army units, the Black Sea Fleet, and the Azov Warship Flotilla, under the command of Chief of General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky.
By autumn 1943, Soviet forces encircled on the Crimean Peninsula a Nazi troops grouping totalling over 200'000 personnel strength (soldiers and officers).
⚔️ At dawn on April 8, 1944, the Soviet forces delivered a crushing blow to the Nazi positions and breached the enemy defences by April 10. During the next three days, the cities of Dzhankoi, Kerch, Yevpatoriya, Simferopol, Feodosiya, Bakhchisarai, Alushta, and Yalta were liberated.
April 15 marked the onset of fierce fighting on the approaches to #Sevastopol, the main base of the USSR Black Sea Fleet, which the Germans had turned into a heavily fortified zone.
Thanks to the selflessness, unwavering resolve, and valour of Soviet soldiers, as well as a strong support from the guerrilla movement, Sevastopol was liberated on May 9, 1944. The German and Romanian occupant troops were crushed. By May 12, 1944, the remnants of the enemy grouping laid down arms and surrendered on Cape Khersones.
The main achievement of the operation was the complete destruction of Germany’s 17th Army and the final liberation of Crimea. The Crimean Offensive is regarded as one of the most successful operations of the allied forces during #WWII.
🎖All in all, 238 people were awarded the title of #HeroOfTheSovietUnion following the Crimean Offensive, and thousands of other participants of the operation were decorated with orders and medals.
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🎙 Statement by the Delegation of the Russian Federation at the General Debate of the session of the United Nations Disarmament Commission (New York, 8 April 2025)
Key talking points
💬 This year is marked by a number of important anniversaries directly related to the activities of the UNDC. This year we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which, according to various estimates, claimed lives of between 50 and 80 million people worldwide, including over 27 million citizens of the Soviet Union.
• The defeat of Nazism laid the foundation for a new architecture of international relations, with the UN at its core. To this day, the UN remains the unique universal platform for elaborating collective solutions in response to global challenges, primarily in the area of international security and stability.
• Unfortunately, after 80 years the lessons of the Second World War axe being forgotten. Today we are witnessing a rapid degradation in the field of international security. The deeply self-serving and destructive course aimed at total geopolitical dominance and overwhelming military-strategic superiority adopted by the group of Western States over a certain historical period has manifested itself in the blatant violation of the principle of equal and undiminished security, as well as in a refusal to seek mutually acceptable solutions based on genuine multilateralism and mutual consideration of concerns.
• In the current circumstances, the consolidated efforts of the international community to de-escalate, reduce tensions and rectify the situation with a view to long- term and reliable stabilization seem to be the obvious priority.
• Against the background of current international instability, preserving the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and ensuring its sustainability and effectiveness remain among our main priorities. Over the 55 years of its existence, the NPT has become a nearly universal international legal instrument that has proven its relevance to the entire international community.
• The establishment and operation of the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ) in various regions of the world, as envisaged under Article VII of the NPT, contributes to strengthening the non-proliferation regime. We welcome efforts to expand the geographic scope of NWFZs. Russia has consistently advocated for the establishment of the Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDFZ).
• We would like to welcome the launching of a discussion in the framework of the UNDC on new technologies in the context of international security and are ready to contribute to the substantive discussion on this pressing issue. <...> Among promising topics we consider the issue of ensuring non-discriminatory access to new technologies and international co-operation in this field. Relevant proposals were made by delegations during the UNDC session in 2024 and met no objections.
Read in full
Key talking points
💬 This year is marked by a number of important anniversaries directly related to the activities of the UNDC. This year we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which, according to various estimates, claimed lives of between 50 and 80 million people worldwide, including over 27 million citizens of the Soviet Union.
• The defeat of Nazism laid the foundation for a new architecture of international relations, with the UN at its core. To this day, the UN remains the unique universal platform for elaborating collective solutions in response to global challenges, primarily in the area of international security and stability.
• Unfortunately, after 80 years the lessons of the Second World War axe being forgotten. Today we are witnessing a rapid degradation in the field of international security. The deeply self-serving and destructive course aimed at total geopolitical dominance and overwhelming military-strategic superiority adopted by the group of Western States over a certain historical period has manifested itself in the blatant violation of the principle of equal and undiminished security, as well as in a refusal to seek mutually acceptable solutions based on genuine multilateralism and mutual consideration of concerns.
• In the current circumstances, the consolidated efforts of the international community to de-escalate, reduce tensions and rectify the situation with a view to long- term and reliable stabilization seem to be the obvious priority.
• Against the background of current international instability, preserving the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and ensuring its sustainability and effectiveness remain among our main priorities. Over the 55 years of its existence, the NPT has become a nearly universal international legal instrument that has proven its relevance to the entire international community.
• The establishment and operation of the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ) in various regions of the world, as envisaged under Article VII of the NPT, contributes to strengthening the non-proliferation regime. We welcome efforts to expand the geographic scope of NWFZs. Russia has consistently advocated for the establishment of the Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDFZ).
• We would like to welcome the launching of a discussion in the framework of the UNDC on new technologies in the context of international security and are ready to contribute to the substantive discussion on this pressing issue. <...> Among promising topics we consider the issue of ensuring non-discriminatory access to new technologies and international co-operation in this field. Relevant proposals were made by delegations during the UNDC session in 2024 and met no objections.
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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives in Kazakhstan to take part in the CIS Foreign Ministers Council meeting as well as the 8th Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Russia & Central Asian states.
📍 Almaty, April 9, 2025
📍 Almaty, April 9, 2025
#Victory80
🌟 On April 10, 1944, the Red Army liberated the city of Odessa from the Nazi German and Romanian invaders as a result of a decisive offensive under the command of Army General Rodion Malinovsky.
The operation began on the night of March 26, 1944, when the 3rd Ukrainian Front formations began to force the Southern Bug River in order to break through the German defences, and lasted until April 14, 1944.
By 10 am on April 10, as a result of fierce fighting, Odessa was liberated. The Red Army units were strongly supported by partisans and underground fighters, who cleared the city of the enemy and prevented the blowup of the Odessa port, piers, buildings, and warehouses as planned by the Germans.
🕯 The Nazi occupation of the city lasted 907 days. During this time, about 200,000 people perished in Odessa and the surrounding region. Many of them became victims of mass-scale massacres and cruel executions; 78,000 people were shipped for forced labour in Germany, plants and factories were destroyed, and more than 2,000 buildings, including hospitals and schools, were blown up and burned down.
Retreating, German and Romanian soldiers shot old people, women and children in the streets in cold blood , mined the most important buildings, factories, the power plant, and the seaport.
⚔️ The Soviet forces inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy, killing more than 27,000 enemies and taking over 11,000 prisoners; 952 artillery guns, 443 tanks and assault guns, and 95 warehouses with ammunition and food were destroyed.
Thanks to the liberation of Odessa, the Red Army managed to interrupt the supply of the Crimean group of German troops and to open the way for further advance towards the Balkans.
During the whole time of occupation, local residents, many of whom after the capture of the city went hiding in the catacombs underneath the urban landscape, put fierce resistance to the Nazis. During the war, Odessa underground fighters and partisans destroyed more than 5,000 enemy soldiers and officers, 248 automobiles, and saved about 20,000 Soviet citizens from being taken to Germany.
The liberation of Odessa was marked in Moscow with fireworks of the highest category with 24 salvos from 324 artillery guns. The entire Soviet nation was united in a jubilation.
🎖 Twenty-seven formations and units with the most distinguished track record during the operation were awarded the honorary name of Odessa units and formations. For heroism and bravery in the battles for the city, 14 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and more than 2,000 people were awarded Soviet orders and medals.
On May 1, 1945, Odessa was declared a Hero City, and on May 8, 1965 it was awarded this title officially.
Some may have chosen to forget, but #WeRemember.
The operation began on the night of March 26, 1944, when the 3rd Ukrainian Front formations began to force the Southern Bug River in order to break through the German defences, and lasted until April 14, 1944.
By 10 am on April 10, as a result of fierce fighting, Odessa was liberated. The Red Army units were strongly supported by partisans and underground fighters, who cleared the city of the enemy and prevented the blowup of the Odessa port, piers, buildings, and warehouses as planned by the Germans.
🕯 The Nazi occupation of the city lasted 907 days. During this time, about 200,000 people perished in Odessa and the surrounding region. Many of them became victims of mass-scale massacres and cruel executions; 78,000 people were shipped for forced labour in Germany, plants and factories were destroyed, and more than 2,000 buildings, including hospitals and schools, were blown up and burned down.
Retreating, German and Romanian soldiers shot old people, women and children in the streets in cold blood , mined the most important buildings, factories, the power plant, and the seaport.
⚔️ The Soviet forces inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy, killing more than 27,000 enemies and taking over 11,000 prisoners; 952 artillery guns, 443 tanks and assault guns, and 95 warehouses with ammunition and food were destroyed.
Thanks to the liberation of Odessa, the Red Army managed to interrupt the supply of the Crimean group of German troops and to open the way for further advance towards the Balkans.
During the whole time of occupation, local residents, many of whom after the capture of the city went hiding in the catacombs underneath the urban landscape, put fierce resistance to the Nazis. During the war, Odessa underground fighters and partisans destroyed more than 5,000 enemy soldiers and officers, 248 automobiles, and saved about 20,000 Soviet citizens from being taken to Germany.
The liberation of Odessa was marked in Moscow with fireworks of the highest category with 24 salvos from 324 artillery guns. The entire Soviet nation was united in a jubilation.
On May 1, 1945, Odessa was declared a Hero City, and on May 8, 1965 it was awarded this title officially.
Some may have chosen to forget, but #WeRemember.
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🇷🇺🇺🇸 The Russian delegation, helmed by Russia's Ambassador to the US Alexander Darchiev arrives at the Consulate-General of the Russian Federation in Istanbul — the venue for the consultations with the US delegation, headed by Sonata Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Central Europe, which will be begin shortly.
📍 Istanbul, Türkiye
📍 Istanbul, Türkiye
🇷🇺🇰🇿 Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu hold a meeting on the sidelines of the CIS Ministerial
📍 Almaty, April 10
#RussiaKazakhstan
📍 Almaty, April 10
#RussiaKazakhstan
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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Flame by the Memorial of Glory in the Park named after the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen.
📍 Almaty, April 10
📍 Almaty, April 10