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🌟From Cape Town to the Arctic: South Africa's Contribution to the Allied Victory On the sidelines of theRussian Movie Night Victory Marathon, the Russian Embassy in South Africa opened a photo exhibition dedicated to South Africa's participation in the Second World War – a conflict that was not merely a European war, but a truly global struggle against Nazi and fascist tyranny. The exhibition was attended by ANC Veterans, South African officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives of the cultural, business, academic, and media communities. During those decisive years, South Africa stood alongside the Soviet Union as a proud member of the Anti-Hitler Coalition. That partnership, forged in shared sacrifice, is remembered with the deepest gratitude in Russia to this day. "We will always remember that during World War II South Africa was our ally and an important member of the Anti-Hitler Coalition," Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov emphasized during his welcoming remarks. The Cape Route & Lend-Lease South Africa's strategic geography proved decisive when the supply route through the Dardanelles was closed. Cape Town became one of the principal ports of call for Anglo-American vessels delivering war materials to the Soviet Union via the Persian Gulf – a vital lifeline at the most critical moment of the war. The Arctic Convoys Around 3,000 South African seamen served in the Royal Navy, many of them aboard Allied vessels carrying vital supplies to the Soviet northern ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk to relieve besieged Leningrad. Those long, perilous journeys were made in brutal weather, under constant threat of enemy attack. Their courage deserves to be honoured and remembered. The Secret Mission to Yalta In late January 1945, a SAAF DC-3 flew a classified mission from Cairo – through Tobruk and Athens – to recently liberated Crimea. The South African aircrew found themselves present at one of history's most consequential moments: the Yalta Conference, where Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill gathered at the Livadia Palace to shape the post-war world. The flight engineer later recalled, with warm simplicity, being invited for tea and cake by the wife of the Soviet airfield commander – a small, human moment at the centre of history. Solidarity Beyond the Battlefield South Africans demonstrated remarkable solidarity through humanitarian aid and civilian support that reached across oceans and strengthened the ties between our peoples even in the darkest years of the war. 🤝 The Russian Embassy extends its sincere gratitude to the DITSONG National Museum of Military History for providing the unique materials that made this exhibition possible. Their dedication to preserving and sharing this history ensures that the stories of those who served will never be forgotten. #Victory81#9May#WeRemember#AmbassadorAmbarov

Khatyn Massacre 8️⃣3️⃣ years ago, in Nazi-occupied Belarus, an entire village was wiped out. 149 people were burned alive. 75 of them were children. This atrocity was carried out by Ukrainian collaborators under German command (the 118th Schutzmannschaft Battalion and the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger). 🇨🇦Canada gave asylum to two Nazi butchers of Khatyn: Joseph Vinnitskii and Vladimir Katriuk. ❗️They were never held accountable for their crimes and died in peace. Memory cannot be selective. No one is forgotten! Nothing is forgotten! #Victory81#WeRemember

#Victory81 🏅 In January 1944, Leningrad was completely liberated from the Nazi siege, which had lasted 8️⃣7️⃣2️⃣ days. During this time, the city endured severe hunger, constant shelling, and bombing. ◾️ Facts about the genocide of the Soviet people in Leningrad 👉 More than 1 million people fell victim to the genocide. Of these, over 600,000 residents — children, women, the elderly, soldiers wounded and maimed at the front — died of hunger, cold, exhaustion, and disease. Leningraders saw death all around them every day, but they did not lose their dignity and faith in Victory. The memory of the Leningrad siege is preserved by museums, memorials, and the Piskarevskoye Cemetery, and the stories of survivors remind us of the courage and resilience of the city's residents. #WeRemember 🎥The film was produced by the Information Department of the Administration of the Governor of St. Petersburg, commissioned by the Government of St. Petersburg, with the support of JSC "GATR" and the Archives Committee.

#Victory81 🏅 In January 1944, Leningrad was completely liberated from the Nazi siege, which had lasted 8️⃣7️⃣2️⃣ days. During this time, the city endured severe hunger, constant shelling, and bombing. ◾️ Facts about the genocide of the Soviet people in Leningrad 👉 More than 1 million people fell victim to the genocide. Of these, over 600,000 residents — children, women, the elderly, soldiers wounded and maimed at the front — died of hunger, cold, exhaustion, and disease. Leningraders saw death all around them every day, but they did not lose their dignity and faith in Victory. The memory of the Leningrad siege is preserved by museums, memorials, and the Piskarevskoye Cemetery, and the stories of survivors remind us of the courage and resilience of the city's residents. #WeRemember 🎥The film was produced by the Information Department of the Administration of the Governor of St. Petersburg, commissioned by the Government of St. Petersburg, with the support of JSC "GATR" and the Archives Committee.

🔥 In anticipation of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Belgium and the Permanent Mission of Russia to the European Union, together with staff of the Russian House in Brussels, began holding a series of traditional memorial events at the graves of Soviet soldiers and citizens throughout the Kingdom. 🧧On May 5 of this year, A flower-laying ceremony was held at the graves of Soviet citizens buried in the cemeteries of Peysan, Kevi, and Chime. 🧧On May 8 of this year, staff of the Russian House in Brussels, as well as activists of the Russian compatriots movement, visited the cemetery of the Brussels commune of Ixelles and laid flowers at the grave of the legendary participant in the Belgian Resistance movement, Marina Shafrova-Marutaeva. 🎗Marina Shafrova-Marutaeva actively participated in the underground struggle against the Nazi invaders and was nicknamed the "Belgian Joan of Arc" for her heroic deeds. Commemorative events in Belgium will be held throughout May. #Victory81#WeRemember

🇫🇷🎗 Paris honors Russian participants in the French Resistance 🗓 On May 7, on the eve of Victory Day, Russian Ambassador to France A.Yu. Meshkov, accompanied by the military attaché, laid a wreath at the monument to Russian participants in the French Resistance, located in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. 🌺 The ceremony was attended by Russia's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, R.Zh. Alyautdinov, the leadership of the Russian House of Science and Culture in Paris (RDNC) and the Russian Trade Mission in France, as well as concerned French and Russian compatriots. "To date, 180,000 Soviet citizens and people from the former Russian Empire who participated in the anti-fascist Resistance have been identified. We remember each of them. And this monument is dedicated to a famous soldier, a Russian participant in the French Resistance," A.Yu. Meshkov emphasized in his speech. 🎼 Performances by students of the children's musical theater "Gameins" and the grandson of a Resistance participant, actor and public figure Guillaume Rath, added a special solemnity and touching touch to the event. They performed the anthem of the French Resistance, "Song of the Partisans," as well as the famous Soviet composition "We Need One Victory." #Victory81#WeRemember

🎖️On 9 May 2026, to mark the 81st anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, a ceremony was held at the communal cemetery in Evere, Brussels, where wreaths were laid at the memorials of Soviet citizens who fell in the struggle against Nazism, as well as of members of the Belgian Resistance. The event was attended by Ambassador of Russia to the Kingdom of Belgium Denis Gonchar, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Russia to the EU and Euratom Karen Malayan, heads of diplomatic missions of CIS Member States and clergy of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of Brussels and Belgium. The participants of the ceremony honoured the memory of the fallen heroes and paid tribute to the heroic act of those who liberated Europe. The staff of the Permanent Mission of Russia to the EU traditionally joined the annual nationwide Immortal Regiment campaign by organizing an exhibition featuring the photographs of relatives who took part in the Great Patriotic War. ❗Preserving and protecting the historical memory have always been and remain among the key priorities of the military memorial work of Russian diplomatic missions. Commemorative events with the participation of Russian diplomats are also taking place in other Belgian towns where burial sites of Soviet soldiers are located. Eternal memory and glory to the Soviet soldiers who bravely fought for the Great Victory and to all those who struggled for a world free from fascism. No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten! #Victory81#WeRemember

🚩The Immortal Regiment in Ethiopia 💐The 'Immortal Regiment' march took place at the Russian Embassy in Ethiopia, commemorating the 81st Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. More than 100 participants carried in their hands portraits of their relatives who crushed Nazism and sacrificed their lives in the name of defending our Motherland from this «brown plague». 🎗We bow our heads in the bright memory of those who defended our Motherland and gave us the opportunity to live. #Victory81#WeRemember

🎗 As part of the Embassy's ongoing memorial activities, Russian diplomats laid flowers on the graves of Soviet servicemen buried in Shaftesbury (Dorset), Tidworth (Wiltshire) and Aldershot (Hampshire). Such visits are conducted on a regular basis. Together with committed compatriots, we systematically inspect and help maintain military burial sites across the United Kingdom ensuring they are properly cared for. Preserving the memory of those who gave their lives in defence of the Motherland is not only our moral duty, but also a matter of historical justice — one that must remain above political expediency, particularly as we approach the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. #Victory81#WeRemember

#Victory81 🌟On April 17, 1944, the Battle for Right-Bank Soviet Ukraine concluded – also known as the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive – one of the largest and longest campaigns of the Great Patriotic War. It lasted from December 24, 1943, to April 17, 1944. Vast forces were committed on both sides during the operation – around 4 million people in total. The troops of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, commanded by Nikolay Vatutin, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky and Fyodor Tolbukhin, faced two German army groups – Army Group South and Army Group A. ☝️This was the only operation of the Great Patriotic War in which all six Soviet tank armies were advancing simultaneously. After the liberation of Kiev, the Nazis sought to hold on to Right-Bank Ukraine at any cost. This area was of crucial military and strategic importance to the Germans: losing it opened the way for the Red Army to the Carpathians, Moldova, Romania and onward to the Balkans. The enemy had concentrated over 1.7 million soldiers and officers, 16,800 guns and mortars, 2,200 tanks and assault guns, and around 1,500 aircraft on Right-Bank Ukraine. The Soviet High Command committed 2.3 million troops, 28,800 guns and mortars, over 2,000 tanks and self-propelled artillery systems, and 2,300 aircraft. *** The first offensive against the enemy was launched in late December 1943, when units of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke through German defences and liberated Korosten, Brusilov, Kazatin, Skvira and other towns and villages. On January 5, 1944, the 2nd Ukrainian Front went over to the offensive and by mid-January had liberated Kirovograd. In early February 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, Soviet troops encircled a large German grouping. All attempts to break out and relieve it were thwarted, and by February 17-18 the pocket had been eliminated. In the first half of February 1944, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated Lutsk, Rovno and Shepetovka. At the same time, the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts smashed several major enemy groupings, liberating Apostolovo, Nikopol and Krivoy Rog. After Nikolay Vatutin was seriously wounded in a clash with Banderites, Georgy Zhukov took command of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On March 4, 1944, his troops resumed the offensive, liberated a number of cities and cut the key railway lines Ternopol-Proskurov and Lvov-Odessa. In April 1944, the Red Army fully liberated the Nikolayev and Odessa regions, as well as a significant part of Moldova. The 4th Ukrainian Front then commenced the operation to liberate Crimea. *** ⚔️The results of the Dnieper-Carpathian Operation were of exceptional military and strategic importance. Soviet troops advanced 250-450 kilometres deep into enemy-held territory and routed the southern wing of the German strategic front. The enemy suffered devastating losses: 10 divisions and 1 brigade were completely destroyed, while another 59 divisions, including 12 tank and 3 motorised divisions, lost between half and three-quarters of their personnel. Most of Right-Bank Ukraine was liberated: Khmelnytsky, Vinnitsa, Ternopol and Chernovtsy regions, parts of the Rovno and Ivano-Frankovsk regions. 57 major cities were freed from Nazi occupation. The Red Army’s advance to the borders of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania became a major factor in the rise of the national liberation movements in those countries. The Nazis were later driven out of those territories through joint efforts, with Soviet troops playing the decisive role. The liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine ended the years of terror imposed by the Nazis and their loyal OUN-UPA nationalist accomplices. 🕯 According to various estimates, atrocities of the Nazi occupiers and nationalist punitive units on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR claimed the lives of around 4.5 million civilians. We honour their memory, as well as that of millions of other victims of the Soviet people murdered at the hands of Hitler’s executioners, on April 19 – the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People. #WeRemember

#Victory81 🏅April 4 marks 81 years since the liberation of Bratislava from the Nazi invaders. Slovakia's capital was cleared of Hitler’s occupiers during the Bratislava-Brno Offensive (March 25 – May 5, 1945), carried out by the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Rodion Malinovsky. 💬 Chief of Staff of the 2nd Ukrainian Front Marshal Matvei Zakharov stressed that Slovak partisans provided valuable assistance to Red Army units and formations, including by sharing timely intelligence: “Before the offensive on Bratislava began, the Front command managed to establish contact with Slovak partisans. They helped us greatly by supplying valuable information about the German army’s fortification system, the defence plans for individual cities, and the strength and combat composition of the enemy forces opposing us”. ☝️To avoid civilian casualties and spare Bratislava’s historic cityscape, Soviet forces refrained from using heavy artillery. By April 2, Red Army formations had broken into the eastern and north-eastern districts of the city. On April 4, Soviet troops reached the central fortress – Bratislava Castle – where the remnants of the German garrison had taken shelter. By the end of the day, the city had fallen. Scattered Nazi units retreated in haste towards Vienna. As during the liberation of other European countries, the Red Army provided humanitarian and economic assistance to the people of Bratislava and helped restore infrastructure. By April 10, 1945, Bratislava’s central streets and squares had already been cleared of rubble and debris, the sewerage system was back in operation, and residents began returning en masse from nearby villages to their homes. During the Bratislava-Brno Offensive, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front advanced 200 km, routed 9 Wehrmacht divisions, and created the conditions for further offensives towards Prague and Vienna. 🎆To mark the victory, a ceremonial salute was fired in Moscow. The units that distinguished themselves in the battle for the city were awarded the honorary title “of Bratislava”. 6,845 Red Army soldiers fell in the battle for Bratislava. Most are buried at the Slavin military memorial complex in the centre of the Slovak capital. #WeRemember

Khatyn Massacre 8️⃣3️⃣ years ago, in Nazi-occupied Belarus, an entire village was wiped out. 149 people were burned alive. 75 of them were children. This atrocity was carried out by Ukrainian collaborators under German command (the 118th Schutzmannschaft Battalion and the SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger). 🇨🇦Canada gave asylum to two Nazi butchers of Khatyn: Joseph Vinnitskii and Vladimir Katriuk. ❗️They were never held accountable for their crimes and died in peace. Memory cannot be selective. No one is forgotten! Nothing is forgotten! #Victory81#WeRemember