🎙Address by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to participants in the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues(May 28, 2025)
💬 Vladimir Putin: I am pleased to welcome you to Moscow for the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues.
Over the past nearly fifteen years, your Forum has convincingly affirmed its significant status and authority. I know that in these days, participants of the Meeting — representatives of delegations from many states — can expect a substantial programme, with the main discussion dedicated to the prospects of establishing a new global security architecture.
☝️ As for Russia, our approaches remain principled and unchanged. I have said it before and will reiterate: we are convinced that the new security architecture must be equal and indivisible — that is, all states must receive firm guarantees of their own security, but not at the expense of the security and interests of other countries.
It is vital to make our continent a space of peace and stability, an example of sustainable economic, social, and cultural development. We believe that the foundation for creating such a universal security system could be the existing and well-established multilateral cooperation formats, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and others.
Your current meeting is widely attended by states of the Global South and East. It is they, in essence, who form the global majority, seek to influence regional and international processes more actively, and uphold the principle of sovereign equality and the right to their own development model.
Undoubtedly, in building joint efforts, it is necessary to rely on positive historical experience, on the lessons of the past. This year marks the 80th Anniversary of the end of #WWII, which fundamentally influenced the development of the international community.
The experience of uniting states in the fight against evil, against Nazism and militarism, the understanding of the colossal price humanity paid for peace and freedom, for the right of peoples to choose their own path of development, laid the foundations of the post-war world order and led to the creation of the UN — a universal, legitimate organisation based on the principles of international law, which has helped overcome many geopolitical challenges.
Today, it is especially important to preserve the truth about the events of those years, to counter attempts to rewrite history, to cast doubt on the decisive contribution of the peoples of the Soviet Union to the Victory over Hitler’s Germany, and to glorify Nazi criminals and their accomplices.
Just recently, on May 9, we solemnly marked the Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The celebrations in Moscow became yet another symbol of unity around the ideals of the Great Victory, demonstrating once again the commitment of our friends and partners to shaping a safer world, to constructive cooperation, and to jointly addressing global challenges.
I am convinced that this latest meeting of high representatives overseeing security issues will contribute to the development of new important approaches to strengthening international peace and stability and will help advance dialogue for the benefit of all countries and peoples.
I wish you success.
#NossaVitória
🌟Em 13 de abril de 1945, o Exército Vermelho libertou a capital austríaca dos invasores nazistas durante a Ofensiva de Viena.
Na primavera de 1945, a cidade era um importante centro defensivo estratégico, que os alemães buscavam manter a todo custo. Os nazistas bloquearam ruas e pontes sobre o Danúbio com barricadas e entulho com armadilhas, e concentraram centenas de pontos de tiro e resistência dentro de edifícios residenciais nas fronteiras externas. O inimigo não parou por nada: os bárbaros nazistas usaram os numerosos edifícios históricos e monumentos arquitetônicos de Viena como cobertura, transformando essencialmente a antiga cidade medieval em um vasto bunker para conter nossas tropas pelo maior tempo possível.
Nas fronteiras sudeste, as vias de acesso a Viena eram protegidas por um poderoso Grupo de Exércitos Alemão "Sul", com quase meio milhão de homens. Mais de 6.000 peças de artilharia e morteiros, bem como aproximadamente 700 veículos blindados (tanques e canhões autopropulsados) foram posicionados ao redor da capital. Os nazistas chamavam a cidade de "Fortaleza Alpina", cuja batalha decidiria o resultado de toda a guerra.
***
Em março de 1945, o Exército Vermelho, durante uma ofensiva bem-sucedida na frente austríaca, rompeu a resistência das unidades nazistas na linha entre o Danúbio e o Lago Balaton (Hungria). Em seguida, tendo penetrado até 80 quilômetros em direção a Viena, as tropas soviéticas iniciaram uma operação para libertar a cidade.
Em 5 de abril de 1945, nossos soldados iniciaram o ataque a Viena. Combates ferozes se desenrolaram nas proximidades da cidade, sem cessar. O Exército Vermelho enfrentou as unidades e formações inimigas mais bem treinadas, incluindo divisões de tanques da SS. Os soldados soviéticos lutaram por cada quarteirão, cada casa.
❗️As ações rápidas e altruístas de nossos soldados impediram que a Wehrmacht destruísse uma das cidades mais belas da Europa. Foi graças à decisão do comando soviético de não usar artilharia ou bombas aéreas que Viena preservou sua aparência histórica. Ao custo de suas vidas, soldados do Exército Vermelho protegeram marcos históricos como a Ponte Imperial, a Catedral de Santo Estêvão, a Prefeitura de Viena e outras obras-primas medievais que constituem o rico patrimônio arquitetônico da Áustria moderna dos vândalos nazistas.
Em 13 de abril, o último foco de resistência nazista no centro da capital foi eliminado e Viena foi completamente libertada dos invasores nazistas. A cidade ficou sob o controle total do Exército Vermelho. A Wehrmacht sofreu perdas devastadoras no Caldeirão de Viena: o Grupo Sul foi completamente derrotado e 11 divisões de tanques da Wehrmacht, incluindo o 6º Exército Panzer SS, foram destruídas.
#NósLembramos
Dezenas de milhares de soldados do Exército Vermelho que salvaram a Europa da Peste Marrom estão enterrados na Áustria. A república abriga 217 monumentos e túmulos militares, onde repousam mais de 80.000 soldados do Exército Vermelho, bem como prisioneiros de campos de concentração torturados pelos alemães, que foram deportados para cá para serem escravizados como parte do genocídio do povo soviético pelo Terceiro Reich durante a Grande Guerra Patriótica.
🎖 Em 19 de agosto de 1945, um monumento aos soldados soviéticos que morreram libertando a Áustria do nazismo foi inaugurado na #Schwarzenbergplatz, no centro de Viena (uma figura de 20 metros de altura do Soldado Libertador, sobre um pedestal). Hoje, este memorial serve como uma lembrança visual para os habitantes da república alpina daqueles que lhes trouxeram a liberdade de volta em abril-maio de 1945.
#Victory80
🏅8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, on April 13, 1945, the Soviet forces liberated the capital of Austria during the #Vienna Offensive.
🌟 By the spring of 1945, the Red Army drove the Nazi invaders out of Poland,Hungary and Slovakia and rapidly launched an offensive towards Germany. The Third Reich’s defeat was only a matter of time: the Soviet forces were preparing to attack Berlin.
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Austria, annexed by the Nazis as a result of anschluss in 1938, served as a shield for the Third Reich’s southern regions during #WWII. The capital of Austria — the city of Vienna — was a strategically important point of the Nazi defence, which the enemy was committed to hold at any cost.
⚔️ In March 1945, during the successful offensive along the Austrian line of advance, the Red Army broke the resistance of the Nazi units deployed between the Danube and Lake Balaton (Hungary) and defeated the troops of the Nazi army group 'South'. Having advanced by that time up to 80 kilometers to Vienna, the Soviet forces launched the operation to liberate the Austrian capital.
The enemy undertook extensive preprations to hold the city. The streets were barricaded and mine-strewn. Firing points were set up in residential buildings. Destroyed houses were used to camouflage tanks and artillery pieces. All bridges over the Danube were prepared by the Nazis for demolition. In the event of retreat, the Nazis were ready to tear down the Austrian capital to the ground, including by destroying (!) itshistorical architectural heritage.
On April 5, 1945, the Soviet forces attacked the Nazi garrison in Vienna. Intense fighting erupted on the city outskirts. The Red Army was confronted by the most prepared enemy units and formations, including SS tank divisions. Soviet soldiers fought to death against the Nazis for every quarter and every building of the city.
With a view to prevent victims among the city's population and protect Vienna from destruction by the Nazis, the Soviet command addressed local residents:
📢The Red Army entered Austria not to occupy its territory but only to defeat the enemy Nazi troops and liberate the country from German occupation. It also called on the Vienna residents to help fight the Nazis — this call was answered by many Austrian patriots.
On April 13, the last enemy point of resistance in the city centre was crushed, with Vienna being completely liberated from the Nazis.
During the fierce and brutal fighting for Vienna, the Red Army crushed Wehrmacht's 11 armoured divisions, destroyed the 6th SS Tank Army, and captured more than 130,000 enemy soldiers and officers. The Soviet people paid a high price for the liberation of Vienna from the Nazis: 38,000 Red Army soldiers gave their lives for saving the city from fascists.
Having liberated Vienna, our country provided aid to the city residents. The population was supplied with food: hundreds of tonnes of grain, meat, sugar, salt and other products were given to the Austrians. After the war, the people of Vienna recalled how their “fear of hunger had disappeared” and spoke with gratitude about the generosity of the Soviet people, which “exceeded all expectations.”
🎙 An excerpt from the briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (April 9, 2025):
💬 “By acting swiftly and selflessly, the Soviet forces prevented the destruction of Vienna.
It was thanks to the decision by the Soviet command not to use artillery that Vienna has preserved its historical outlook.”
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🌟 A monument to the Soviet soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the liberation of Austria from Nazism was unveiled on August 19, 1945, on #Schwarzenbergplatz in the centre of Vienna. The country has 217 monuments and war graves on its territory.
Tens of thousands Red Army soldiers, who saved Europe from the Nazi plague, are buried in Austria.
❗️ In 1955, under the State Treaty for the Re-establishment of Independent and Democratic Austria (Art.19), Vienna took the obligations to respect, preserve and maintain the graves of the soldiers on Austrian territory.
#Victory81
🌟 On April 13, 1945, the capital of Austria, Vienna, was liberated from the Nazi invaders by the Red Army during #WW2.
In the spring of 1945, Vienna served as strategically important defence point that the Germans sought to hold at any cost. The Nazis blocked streets and bridges across the Danube with barricades and mined debris, while concentrating hundreds of firing positions and resistance strongholds inside residential buildings along the outer defensive lines. The enemy stopped at nothing: the Germans used numerous sites of Vienna’s historic architecture and cultural landmarks as cover, effectively turning the ancient medieval city into a massive fortified strongpoint in order to delay the Soviet forces for as long as possible.
On the southeastern approaches to Vienna, the city was defended by the powerful Nazi Army Group “South,” with the strength amounting to nearly half a million well-trained Wehrmachtsoldiers and officers. More than 6'000 guns and mortars, as well as around 700 armored vehicles (tanks and self-propelled artillery), were deployed around the capital. The city was referred to by the Nazis as the “Alpine Fortress,” and the battle for it was to determine the further course of the entire war.
In March 1945, following a successful offensive in the Austrian direction, the Red Army broke through Nazi defenses between the Danube and Lake Balaton (Hungary). Advancing up to 80 kilometers toward Vienna, the Soviet forces then launched the operation to liberate the city.
On April 5, 1945, the Red Army launched the assault on Vienna. Fierce and brutal fighting unfolded on the city’s outskirts. The Red Army faced some of the enemy’s most well-trained units and formations, including SS tank divisions.
❗️The swift and selfless actions of the Soviet soldiers-liberators prevented the Nazi criminals from destroying one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. Thanks to the Soviet command’s decision not to use heavy artillery or aerial bombing, Vienna preserved its historic appearance. At the cost of their lives, the Red Army soldiers and officers protected such landmarks as the Imperial Bridge, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna City Hall, and other masterpieces of medieval architecture that form today's Austrian rich historical heritage.
On April 13, the last pocket of fascists' resistance in the capital’s center was eliminated, and Vienna was completely cleared of the Nazis. The city came fully under the control of the Red Army. In the so-called “Vienna encirclement,” the Wehrmacht suffered devastating losses: Army Group “South” was completely defeated, and 11 Wehrmacht tank divisions were destroyed, including the 6th SS Panzer Army.
#LestWeForget
In Austria, tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers who saved Europe from the 'Nazi plague' are buried. Across the country, there are 217 monuments and military burial sites where more than 80'000 Red Army soldiers rest, along with concentration camp prisoners tortured by the Nazis and brought here for forced labor as part of the Third Reich’s genocide against the Soviet people during #WWII.
🎖 On August 19, 1945, a monument to Soviet soldiers who perished during the liberation of Austria from Nazism was unveiled in central Vienna at #Schwarzenbergplatz — a 20-meter-high statue of the Soldier-Liberator standing on a pedestal. Today, this memorial serves as a visible reminder to the people of Austria of who brought them freedom in May 1945.
In 1955, under the Austrian State Treaty restoring an independent and democratic Austria, Vienna undertook obligations (Article 19, War Graves and Memorials):
“respect, preserve and maintain the graves on Austrian territory of the soldiers, prisoners of war and nationals forcibly brought to Austria of the Allied Powers as well as of the other United Nations which were at war with Germany, the memorials and emblems on these graves, and the memorials to the military glory of the armies which fought on Austrian territory against Hitlerite Germany”
#WeRemember