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🗓 Exactly 80 years ago, on 17 January 1945, Warsaw was liberated from fascist invaders by the forces of the 1st Belorussian Front of the Red Army and the 1st Polish Army. The city was under German occupation since 28 September 1939. The Warsaw-Poznan operation was an important part of one of the largest offensives of the Great Patriotic War – the Vistula-Oder Operation (12 January – 3 February 1945). ✏ In 2017, the Russian Ministry of Defence unveiled a unique archive with declassified documents on the liberation of Poland by the Soviet Armed Forces. Those documents provide evidence of how Poles treated Soviet soldiers: church priests called on worshippers to support the Red Army, people brought flowers to the soldiers, Polish and Soviet flags were displayed outside houses. ❗It is our common duty to remember history and honour the heroic deeds of those who gave us the right to life. It is symbolic that the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Warsaw coincides with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Regardless of the attempts made by some European politicians to distort the historical truth and downplay the role of the USSR in liberating Europe from Nazism, the chronicle of the war years cannot be rewritten. It will forever remain a living reminder for future generations. #Victory80#WeRemember

#Victory81 ⚔️ April 13 – a memorable date in Russia’s military history. #OTD in 1945, the Red Army liberated Vienna. Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin, who had already helped liberate Belgrade and Budapest, now stood at the gates of the Austrian capital. 💬Addressing the people of Vienna, the Soviet commander declared: “The Red Army brings Austria liberation from German domination” 🏅Yet the battle for Vienna was fierce. German forces had heavily fortified the city and resisted stubbornly. Even so, MarshalTolbukhin ordered that heavy artillery and aerial bombing are not to be used, in order to preserve one of the most beautiful cities in the world. This was a difficult decision. The assault started on April 5th without decisive success. The Soviet command had to revise its plans and adjust the directions of attack. 🌟 Tolbukhin then made what was likely the only possible decision at that moment – to launch a simultaneous assault on the city from multiple directions. The German forces could not withstand the pressure. At midday on April 13, Vienna was liberated from German troops. 🎥©Russian Military Historical Society

🕯 June 22 marks the Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russia. At dawn on June 2️⃣2️⃣, 1941, enemy aviation launched massive attacks on airfields, railway stations, Soviet naval bases and numerous cities along the entire western state border to a depth of up to 250-300 km. This opened one of the most tragic chapters in our country’s history. The Great Patriotic War broke out. Hitler had a lightning war in mind. Operation Barbarossa implied a crushing defeat of the Red Army and the defeat of the Soviet Union within a few months with the help of the hitherto faultless blitzkrieg tactics. Romania, Italy and other countries joined Germany to form a united front against the Soviet Union. However, the Red Army’s fierce resistance and the efforts of all Soviet people foiled the Third Reich’s plans. 🎙 The news about German invasion and the beginning of the war was announced over the radio. At noon on June 22 the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.Molotov addressed the Soviet citizens with a phrase that went down in history: “Ours is a righteous cause. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours”. The Great Patriotic War lasted 1418 days and nights and ended on May 9, 1945 with the victory of the Soviet Union and the complete rout of the Nazi bloc. ❗️ The Soviet people perished amounts to 40% of all human losses in WWII, i.e. 26.6 million people! Of them, more than 8.7 million died in combat, 7.42 million were intentionally exterminated by the Nazis in the occupied territories, and over 4.1 million died from the atrocious conditions of the occupation regime. • Since 2009, the day marked by the Candle of Memory nationwide action. Candles are lit throughout Russia in the silence of the night in memory of all those who died during the Great Patriotic War protecting our peaceful life. Since 2020, an annual nationwide minute of silence has been held at 12:15 Moscow time the exact time when the Soviet government announced Nazi Germany’s invasion. 🔗Read our full material for more information #Victory79#WeRemember

🇷🇺 Commander-in-Chief of Russian Navy Nikolai Yevmenov visited the Kaliningrad Region last week. ⚔ He handed over a historical flag of the Mine-and-Torpedo Air Regiment of the Baltic Fleet Air Force, bombed Berlin in August 1941, to the pilots of the Mixed Aviation Regiment of the Baltic Fleet. 🔗Read more 📸@mod_russia #WeRemember#WW2

🗓 July 27 is the Day of Remembrance for Child Victims of the War in Donbass. In 2014, the Kiev regime thugs unleashed a full-scale military operation against the civilian population of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Some 300 children have been killed and more than 1'000 have been injured over the years. Twelve-year-old ballerina Katya Kutubayeva was one of the victims of this human-hating aggression. On August 4, 2022, she was killed in Donetsk during a Ukrainian neo-Nazi attack on the city centre. This girl, who dreamed of dancing the role of Masha in The Nutcracker, had been preparing to enroll at the Vaganova Russian Ballet Academy — just three weeks away. Galina Volodina, a teacher at the Vadim Pisarev Choreography School who was accompanying Katya that day, also lost her life. The tragedy happened as the farewell ceremony for Hero of Russia Olga Kachura was taking place nearby at Donbass Opera. Everybody who remembered and knew Katya described her as deeply purpose-driven. While neo-Nazis continued to attack Donetsk, she never stopped practising and strove to uplift those around her. 💬 Teacher Marina Nikolskaya: Katyusha has made incredible progress in recent years. She possesses both physical abilities and proportions for ballet, with a petite head and elongated limbs. She is also extremely hard-working. 🕯 The memory of Katya lives on. On June 1, 2025, on Children's Day, an anonymous artist created a graffiti depiction of a child’s silhouette on the site of the strike. #WeRemember#NoStatuteOfLimitations ©DPR Infoschool

#Victory81 🌟 On April 9, 1945, the Red Army captured the Nazi fortress city — Königsberg — during the East-Prussian offensive. The German Wehrmacht’s troops in East Prussia — powerful fascists' units on the Eastern Front — were totally destroyed once and for all. The 3rd Belarussian Front of the Red Army carried out the Königsberg operation and crushed the Nazis withinjust three days. The first line of the enemy defences was breached within the first 24 hours, the fortress city surrounded the next day, with the last pockets of Nazi resistance being eliminated on April 9. *** #Königsbergserved as a ToO with fierce and bloody battles during #WWII. The city itself, which was regarded as the most impregnable citadel of the Third Reich, was fortified with then cutting-edge military technology and prepared for long-term resistance in conditions of complete isolation. The city area of about 200 square kilometres was turned into a complicated network of fortifications, which, combined with numerous stone buildings in the suburbs, provided conditions for long-term defence. The citadel was termed by the Nazis the “iron door of Germany.” The Red Army soldiers and officers who took part in the assault on Königsberg recalled that only the 305mm artillery guns could penetrate the several-metres thick walls. The fall of Königsberg delivered a heavy blow to the Nazi war machine — the enemy lost the strategic Pillau naval base on the Baltic Sea, with the main German troops of the Samland and East Prussian armies being completely defeated. 🔉Excerpt from the Soviet "Sovinformburo" communique on April 9, 1945: On April 9, the forces of the 3rd Belarussian Front stormed and captured <...> the Königsberg fortress — the capital of East Prussia and a strategic hub of Nazi defences on the Baltic Sea. By 8 pm, our armies took as prisoners over 27'000 Nazi soldiers and officers, seized a large amount of weapons and various military equipment. 👉The fall of Königsberg and East Prussia accelerated the defeat of the Nazi war machine. The end of the Third Reich was a foregone conclusion, but the enemy, fearing just retribution for the numerous crimes it had committed, continued to fight desperately. #LestWeForget: The Red Army soldiers and officers demonstrated high combat readiness and mass heroism: 235 soldiers were later awarded the title of #HeroOfTheSovietUnion. To commemorate their feat, the 'Medal For the Capture of Königsberg' was established and awarded to 760'000 Soviet soldiers and officers. By decisions of the Potsdam Conference following the end of WWII in Europe, a large part of East Prussia was assigned to Poland, while a third of its territory with Königsberg was incorporated into the Soviet Union and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (the Kaliningrad Region). 🎖 On November 17, 2025, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on establishing a new commemorative date — April 9, Day of the Heroic Assault and Capture of Königsberg. #WeRemember

#FacesOfVictory 🗓Marina Raskova, a legendary navigator, a symbol of courage and a source of inspiration for thousands of young women who dreamed of flying, was born on March 28, 1912. Her aviation career began in 1931, when she was hired as a draftswoman in the air navigation laboratory of the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy in Moscow. Marina was a technical assistant of the laboratory head, pilot Alexander Belyakov, and attended lectures at the academy, where she became keen on navigation, subsequently enrolling at the correspondence department of the Leningrad Institute of Aviation. ✈️ In 1934, she received the diploma of navigator, and a year later she learned to fly at the Central Flying Club in Moscow. She took part in flights since 1935, setting several world flight distance records. Her main achievement was the famous non-stop flight of the Rodina aircraft from Moscow to the Far East with an all-female crew, which made her a national celebrity. 🎖 In 1938, Marina Raskova, Valentina Grizodubova and Polina Osipenko became the first women to be awarded the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union for that flight. When the Great Patriotic War began in 1941, Raskova was instructed to establish female air force units. In October 1941, she created the night bomber aviation regiment that flew the U-2 (Polikarpov Po-2) aircraft, and a dive bomber regiment flying the Petlyakov Pe-2 planes. In December 1942, one of these regiments was deployed near Stalingrad, where fierce fighting was underway. The famous 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Regiment, which Raskova created, instilled uncontrollable fear in the Germans, who called it the Night Witches. 🕯 Marina Raskova did not take part in fighting. On January 4, 1943, her plane crashed on its way to the frontline near the village of Mikhailovka, Saratov Region, due to bad weather. The urn with her ashes was buried in the Kremlin Wall on Red Square in Moscow. #Victory81

#FacesOfVictory ⚓️ On January 16, 1909, Boris Alexeev was born – commander of the S-33 submarine of the Black Sea Fleet, Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain 1st Rank, Candidate of Naval Sciences. From a young age, Boris Alexeev devoted his life to the sea – already at 14, he worked on vessels of the Volga-Caspian Shipping Company. In 1931, he graduated from the Baku Maritime Technical School and entered service in the USSR Navy. After completing submarine command courses in Leningrad, Alexeev first served with the Pacific Fleet and, from November 1939, with the Black Sea Fleet, where he met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. ⚔️The defence of Sevastopol and the liberation of Crimea became key chapters of his combat record. Between 1941-1944, while commanding submarine S-33, Boris Alexeev carried out 18 combat patrols. Even when his submarine was undergoing repairs, he continued to fight the Nazi invaders. For instance, in the spring and summer of 1942, acting as the supporting commander of submarine S-31, he broke through to besieged Sevastopol – delivering ammunition and food and evacuating wounded and sick Red Army soldiers. In 1943-1944, S-33 conducted raids against enemy communications between Sevastopol and western Black Sea ports, as well as off the Crimean coast. The results of these operations were confirmed after the war: • April 20, 1943 – sank the Romanian transport Suceava; • September 22 and December 27, 1943 – destroyed two enemy transports by torpedoes, of approximately 6,000 and 4,000 tons; • May 12, 1944, off Cape Sarych – intercepted and sank an enemy landing barge, capturing the naval ensign of Nazi Germany. 💬 Excerpt from the award citation for Boris Alexeev (June 5, 1944): Captain 2nd Rank Alexeev completed 18 fully autonomous combat patrols during the Patriotic War. His combat record includes seven enemy ships sunk and one damaged. All attacks were conducted boldly and persistently, despite active countermeasures of the enemy escort. At sea, Captain 2nd Rank Alexeev constantly seeks out the enemy, finds him and delivers a devastating blow. Through his courage and determination, inflicting significant damage on the enemy, he has earned universal respect among the personnel of the submarine brigade. He is worthy of the title “Hero of the Soviet Union”. 🏅 On July 22, 1944, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Boris Alexeev was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and submarine S-33 was granted the Guards status. After the Victory, Boris Alexeev continued his exemplary service – commanding a submarine division of the Black Sea Fleet, graduating with honours from the Voroshilov Naval Academy and training new generations of submariners. He passed away on January 25, 1972, and was laid to rest at Serafimovskoe Cemetery. #Victory81

🇰🇿 ВЕСЬ КАЗАХСТАН 🇰🇿 Международное молодежное движение Future Team и арт-кластер Таврида запускают проект, посвященный празднованию Дня Победы. Они предлагают молодёжи со всего мира записать на видео исполнение куплета одной из известных русских песен военных лет. Для того чтобы принять участие в исполнении песен «День Победы» и «Катюша» необходимо: Исполнить песню вживую, под собственный аккомпанемент или минус, Записать можно любой отрывок из песни Видео снимать в горизонтальном формате ❗️ВАЖНО: «Минус» должен звучать тихо и по возможности далеко от смартфона, на который записывается голос исполнителя. По возможности используйте наушники для прослушивания фонограммы, чтобы записать только ваш голос. Пожалуйста, начните запись за несколько секунд до начала пения, и не выключайте сразу после окончания, посмотрите в камеру, улыбнитесь 🤗 🏷Пожалуйста, опубликуйте видео в соцсетях и поставьте хэштеги: #Katusha#GreatVictory#9may#tavrida1love 💌Видео далее направлять на почту: [email protected] или WatsApp/Telegram +79152977118. ❗С видео присылаем информацию: 📌 Фамилия Имя на русском и английском языках 📌 возраст, 📌 страна, город (с указанием области) 📍Тут минусовки и тексты песен - https://disk.yandex.kz/d/rQxHm6mcSBXKug

#WeRemember 🌟 On April 30, 1945, amid fierce battle for the Reichstag, — the legendary Heroic Feat was performed by a Red Army soldier, which entered history as the worldwide known and recognised symbol of the noble, great mission of the Soviet soldiers-liberators,who, selflesslyandfearlessly, at the cost of their lives, crushed Hitler's Germany and freed the peoples of Europe of the the Nazi scourge. #OTD in 1945, Sergeant of the 79th Guards Rifle Division, Red Army soldier NikolayMasalov, despite the enormous danger and under enemy heavy fire, saved the life of a German girl, carrying her out of the shelling zone. This honourable deed is immortalised in the figure of the Liberator Soldier memorial in Berlin — the iconic monument in #TreptowerPark, where over 7'000 Red Army soldiers, who fell during the fighting for the Third Reich’s capital, now rest in peace. The central statue of this world-renowned memorial complex — a Soviet soldier carefully holding in hands a German girl — has become a symbol of the Great Victory of the Soviet people over the Nazi Germany. 💬 Maria Zakharova: This memorial features the statue of a Soviet soldier holding a German girl — not a Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Tajik, Armenian, Azerbaijani, or Jewish girl, but a German girl. This, I believe, represents the most accurate manifestation of humanism: a Soviet soldier is portrayed as a liberator, first and foremost of the German people from Nazism, even though his own family had been killed, his home destroyed, and his home towns and villages burned down. Yet he protects a German girl. <...> And now they [the official authorities of Germany] are questioning if it is appropriate to commemorate and celebrate Victory Day at Treptower Park beside the statue of the Soldier holding a German girl. They claim this contradicts the “quiet mourning” approach adopted by “civilised Europe.” (Excerpt from the briefing by Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, April 24, 2026) *** The History of the Feat On the morning of April 30, 1945, during the artillery preparation preceding the advance of Soviet units towards a key German defence point in central Berlin — Tempelhof Airport — NikolayMasalov heard a child crying. As Marshal Vasily Chuikov later recalled in his memoirs: A child’s voice sounded as if from somewhere beneath the ground, muffled and imploring. Crying, the child repeated just one word, understood by all — 'mutter', 'mutter'. #Masalov resolutely rushed to help the child. Risking his life, the he crawled across a bridge over the Landwehr Canal and rescued a three-year-old girl who was sitting beside the body of her mother, killed by the Nazis. Taking the girl into his arms, #Masalov began fighting his way back — the Germans were already pouring machine-gun fire onto the Soviet positions. 💬MarshalChuikov later recalled Masalov’s heroic deed as follows: Thousands of guns and mortars were firing upon the enemy. Thousands of shells and mines covered the Soviet soldier’s breakthrough from the death zone with a three-year-old German girl in his arms. Nikolay Masalov himself never regarded his heroic feat as anything out of the ordinary; whenever he spoke of it, he was a man of few words: 💬 “I am a Russian soldier. Anyone would’ve done the same in my place.” #OurHeroes#Victory81

#AmbassadorSpeaks 🎙Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov in an Interview with Sputnik Africa: Question:How are Russia and South Africa currently working together to preserve their shared historical heritage, including the history of Russian involvement with the Boers? 💬Roman Ambarov: Russia supported the Boers in their war with the British Empire at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is important to view these events in their proper historical context, as part of a wider struggle against imperial expansion. That war was a tragically difficult chapter. Farms were destroyed, civilians suffered greatly, and tens of thousands of women and children died in British concentration camps. According to some historians, the British were the first to introduce systematic detention of civilians on a large scale. And it was the British army from whom Hitler later borrowed the said methods. Visiting places like the War Museum of the Boer Republics makes this history very real – you can truly feel the human cost behind the events we speak about. More than a century ago, this conflict deeply resonated with people in Russia. It was seen as a struggle of a nation defending its independence and the way of life. And this solidarity was not only expressed in words. Up to 270 Russian volunteers traveled thousands of kilometres to join Boer commandos.They shared the hardships of war: many were wounded, some were captured, and some never returned home. Emperor Nicholas II closely followed the course of the war and, in personal letters, expressed his satisfaction at the successes of the Boers. Russia’s support also went far beyond the battlefield. Russian medical teams, including a Red Cross detachment and a Russian-Dutch ambulance unit, worked under extremely difficult conditions, helping the wounded, civilians, and prisoners of war. ❗️Their mission was humanitarian, guided by compassion, not politics. Recently I visitedthe city of Newcastle where this medical hospital was deployed. And I was wholeheartedly impressed that the memory about its work and Russian medics is still being kept, revered and cherished by the local community. There are also lasting, very tangible symbols of this connection. In Bloemfontein, the Oranje Girls’ School was established with support from the Russian Imperial Court – a reminder that these ties were not only forged in wartime, but also in efforts to build and support communities. Today, we continue this work of preserving our shared history. Every year, the Embassy takes part in commemorative events in Utrecht, KwaZulu-Natal, where the monument to Russian Captain Leo Pokrowsky, who died during the war, is located, as well as the Wall of Memory bearing the names of around 90 Russian volunteers. On the Embassy’s website, we are developing a digital map of key historical sites of Russia-South Africa relations. It helps users navigate memorial places across the country. And we will continue this work. 🤝 We are also teaming with South African partners, including museums and research institutions, to preserve and share historical documentation. The transfer of unique archival materials earlier this year to the War Museum of Boer Republicsin Bloomfontein, Fort Amiel Museum in Newcastle and the Old Parsonage Museum in Utrecht, is a practical way of keeping this shared memory alive. ☝️ Once again, I would like to emphasise that Russia supported the Boers in their struggle against British imperial expansion, and later supported South Africa in the fight against apartheid. Russia and South Africa share important pages of common history. This is not just about the past. The legacy of solidarity between Russians and South Africans remains a meaningful foundation for our relations today. #RussiaSouthAfrica #AmbassadorAmbarov #AmbarovSputnikAfrica

🇷🇺 Happy #VictoryDay! 🇷🇺 #Victory81