Russian Embassy in Asmara

#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

🎖October 14 marks 81 years since the Sobibor uprising — a special date in the history of World War II. 📅 It was #OnThisDay in 1943, that the only successful mass escape from the Nazi death camps took place — the Sobibor uprising, led by a Soviet prisoner of war, the Red Army lieutenant Alexander Pechersky. ▪️During the war, Nazi Germany established about 14,000 concentration camps, with the so-called death camps among them, used by the Nazis to exterminate people. Sobibor was one those death camps formed in German-occupied Poland with one aim — to ensure the “final solution to the Jewish question.” Sobibor had been in operation since May 1942. It was located near the village of Sobibor in the south east of Poland near the Western Bug River and the Polish-Soviet border. The camp was set up by the Nazis on a railroad haul between towns Chelm and Wlodawa, which made it possible to ship prisoners to Sobibor by train cars. Sobibor was literally a death factory designed to slaughter people in the most brutal and terrifying ways. Each and every day, up to six trains each carrying 2,000 people — both military and civilians, including senior people, women, and children — delivered prisoners to that camp. ▪️Captives in Sobibor were shot, gassed, starved or exploited to the death. People were subjected to heinous medical experiments. Prisoners were brought to Sobibor for further torture and slaughter from Austria, Czechoslovakia, France. It is known that the two so-called "children trains" left the Netherlands for Sobibor in June 1943. During the time the camp was in operation, the Nazis massacred there up to 250,000 POWs. Sobibor was well-guarded by the Nazis. The camp was fenced off by four rows of three-metre-high barbed wire. The territory around was mined. There were sentinels on towers along the perimeter. Sobibor was also cordoned off by 200 guards, with about a hundred SS soldiers among them. Ukrainian collaborators, including those serving in 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), were in charge of maintaining the “order” in Sobibor. Given all that, escaping from Sobibor seemed unthinkable. ⚔️ On October 14, 1943, the uprising in Sobibor under the leadership of Alexander Pechersky took place. Encouraged by the Soviet officer, the prisoners performed a truly heroic feat — in an unequal battle with the Nazis, POWs killed 11 or, according to other sources, 12 SS soldiers and several guards. Having overpowered the enemy literally with bare hands, the prisoners rushed undaunted to the central gate of Sobibor under heavy machine-gun fire from the towers. Nothing could stop the doomed prisoners, neither the minefields surrounding the camp, nor the barbed wire, nor the gun fire. As a result of the uprising in Sobibor, about 300 prisoners managed to escape from this hell on Earth. Many survivors who managed to escape further joined the ranks of the resistance and continued their fight against the enemy. Alexander Pechersky himself joined the Belarusian partisans, and in 1944 fought the Nazis again. ☝️The Sobibor uprising is known to be the only ever successful mass escape from Nazi death camps in the history of WWII. The Nazi SS command, unable to bear the shame and trying to hide the traces of their crimes against humanity in Sobibor, ordered to raze the camp to the ground. The crimes committed in Sobibor were part of the charges against the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials, and the stories told by eyewitnesses and participants of the uprising were depicted in many books and films. Todaythe Alexander Pechersky Foundation in Russia plays an important role in preserving the memory of the Sobibor prisoners’ feat. #Victory79#WeRemember

🗓 On September 7, 1945, a military parade of the allied forces of the #USSR, US, UK and France took place in Berlin near the walls of the defeated Reichstag on Alexanderplatz Square, marking the end of #WWII. The location of the parade – at the Brandenburg Gate, at the very heart of the German capital – was not chosen by chance. It was right here where the Battle of Berlin ended and the remnants of the Berlin group of German troops surrendered to the Red Army. Scheduled for September 7, the parade was timed to coincide with the victory over militaristic Japan. Representatives of the allied powers responded positively to Moscow's proposal to hold a joint parade in Berlin. However, on the eve of the event, after the date and all the details had been agreed upon, the US, UK and France announced that instead of the commanders-in-chief – Eisenhower, Montgomery and Tassigny – they would send lower-ranking generals, who were already stationed in Germany, to the parade. By doing so, the allies tried to downplay the significance of the parde, which emphasized the decisive role of the Soviet Union in taking Berlin. At that time, no one doubted who bore the brunt of the storming of the capital of the Third Reich. 🇷🇺 The USSR carried out thorough preparations for the parade. The Soviet command attracted the most distinguished soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals who had shown unrivalled courage in taking Berlin and the main centers of the reich – the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery. 🎖On September 7 at 11 am, the Berlin allied parade commenced. It was received by the Commander of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany Georgy Zhukov. The parade was opened by the combined regiment of the 248th Rifle Division of the Red Army, led by Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Lenev. The parade was closed by a column of the Soviet armor, with the latest heavy tanks IS-3 ("Joseph Stalin") marching. 💬 In his welcoming speech to the parade participants, Marshal Zhukov paid tribute to the exploits of the Soviet and Allied forces in the struggle for victory over Nazi Germany: "Fighting friends, comrades in arms, soldiers, officers and generals... <...> The Second World War ended with a decisive and powerful strike from the great allied powers. Our victory is a triumph of an unprecedented military partnership of democratic states. From now on, people <...> will be eternally grateful to the great nations of America, England, the Soviet Union, the French Republic and China, to their valiant soldiers who, in the difficult time of military trials, gave each other helping hands, united to win a victory over a common enemy, to win the long-awaited peace on Earth." #Victory79#WeRemember#WeWereAllies

🗓 On August 18, 1921, the legendary Soviet fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak — known by her call sign White Lily — was born. Lydia dreamed of conquering the skies from a young age. At 14, she began training at an aviation club, and by the age of 15, she completed her first solo flight. After graduating from flight school, she began training cadets in flying at just 19 years old. ✈️ In October 1941, Lydia Litvyak was called up for military service, and a year later, she joined the 586th Women’s Aviation Regiment. Her first combat mission took place in the skies over Saratov, piloting a Yak-1 fighter. In September, she participated in fierce battles over Stalingrad. Due to her impressive achievements in the air, Litvyak was transferred to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, known as the “ace regiment”. Following the successful counteroffensive near Stalingrad in 1943, fierce battles erupted on the approaches to Donbass, where Lydia Litvyak continued her service in the skies. 🕯 On August 1, 1943, while defending Donbass, Litvyak engaged in an air battle against several Messerschmitts, which outperformed the Yak-1 in both speed and manoeuvrability. Radio operators intercepted distressing messages from pilots: “Lilya has been shot down!” The crash site of Litvyak’s fighter was discovered only decades later. She was just 21 years old during her final combat mission. In total, the White Lily completed 168 combat missions, personally downing 12 enemy aircraft and 4 more as part of a group. She became the most successful female pilot of World War II. 🎖 Lydia Litvyak was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on May 5, 1990. #FacesOfVictory#WeRemember

🗓#OnThisDay in 1984, Hero of the Russian Federation, Air Force Major Roman Filipov was born. At school, Roman Filipov dreamt of a career in the Air Force, following in his father’s footsteps. After completing his 11-year secondary education, he enrolled in the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School. ✈️ At the age of 18, he was assigned to the 187th Guards Air Assault Regiment based in the village of Chernigovka, the Primorye Territory. He quickly rose through the ranks, starting as a senior pilot and eventually becoming deputy air squadron commander at an assault air regiment of the Eastern Military District. He was then deployed to the Air Group of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria. Upon arrival, he took part in military operations as a flight commander, piloting Sukhoi Su-25SM ground-attack aircraft. Roman Filipov was an ace Class 1 Pilot and frequently participated in Russia’s national Aviadarts exercises. His total flying time was 1,300 hours as he completed 80 combat sorties. ▪️ He perished in the line of duty in Syria on February 3, 2018, while returning to base after a fly-by over the Idlib de-escalation zone. His Su-25SM was shot down by terrorists using a portable surface-to-air missile system. He tried to keep his plane airborne, diverting it from houses on the ground. Once he successfully accomplished this, he ejected from the aircraft. He was encircled by militants on the ground, conducted an unequal battle against the enemy, became severely injured, and, when the enemy forces approached him at minimum distance, exploded himself with a grenade, shouting: “This is for our guys!”. 🎖 Major Roman Filipov was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation (posthumously) for his heroism, courage and bravery in the performance of military duty. #WeRemember