Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
The Nazis began building this “factory of death” in 1938, near the Austrian city of Linz. Mauthausen was classified as a a “Category 3” camp with the harshest possible treatment. Over seven years, around 335,000 people passed through it; more than 120,000 were murdered.
In the summer of 1944, the camp opened the notorious “Block No. 20”, known among prisoners as the “barrack for the condemned”. This isolated compound held inmates sentenced to “execution by shooting”. Its prisoners were mainly soldiers and officers of the Red Army: men who had refused to betray their Fatherland, who had already attempted escapes or uprisings in other camps.
The prisoners of Block No. 20 were exterminated systematically and with deliberate cruelty. They were fed once every few days, kept in an unheated barrack, and subjected daily to exhausting “physical exercises”. For the slightest infraction, they were beaten – often to death. The block also served as a training ground for SS recruits, who practised torture and killing on the inmates.
The captured Red Army soldiers harboured no hope of liberation. By early 1945, they began preparing an escape. Of the 570 prisoners held in Block No. 20, around 70 were unable to walk. Knowing that the escape of the others would trigger their immediate execution, they asked only one thing: “Comrades, make it back to your own. Tell them our story”.
The escape was originally planned for January 29. But on that day, SS troops stormed the barrack and took away around thirty prisoners. As later became clear, not a single Soviet prisoner gave up the planned escape. All of them were burned alive by the Nazis.
⚔️ On the night of February 1-2, Mauthausen was jolted awake by cries of “Ura!” and bursts of machine-gun fire. Exhausted but unbroken in spirit, the prisoners charged the camp guards with virtually bare hands, using whatever was at hand – fire extinguishers, stones, and wooden shoe clogs. They seized one of the machine-gun towers and neutralised the others. Breaking through the barriers, more than 400 condemned prisoners scaled a 3.5-metre wall, crossed a water-filled ditch, and forced their way past barbed-wire fences, managing to escape the concentration camp.
They fled in –8 °C, through deep snow, without shoes or warm clothing. By the morning of February 2, the Nazis had launched a full-scale manhunt.
💬 From the testimony of François Boix, a Mauthausen prisoner and witness for the French prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials:
The camp commandant, Franz Ziereis, addressed civilians by radio, urging them to assist in the manhunt for escaped Russian prisoners. He said: “You are passionate hunters – and this will be more fun than hunting hares”.
The pursuit involved everyone – SS units, Wehrmacht soldiers, police, Volkssturm, Hitler Youth, and even civilians. Most of the escapees were unable to get far. A few days later, the camp authorities reported that all of the escaped prisoners had been eliminated.
But the Nazis were wrong. Of the hundreds who took part in the uprising, between 11 and 19 survived, according to various estimates.
❗️ In May 1945, Mauthausen was liberated by US Army units. Camp personnel were arrested and brought to trial in 1946. All 61 defendants were found guilty – 58 were sentenced to death, and three to life imprisonment. The death sentences were carried out on May 27-28, 1947.
The organiser of the so-called “hare hunt” and commandant of Mauthausen, Franz Ziereis, was wounded by US troops on May 23, 1945 while attempting to escape. He was taken to hospital, gave testimony, and later died under unclear circumstances. Former prisoners of Mauthausen hung the body of their tormentor on the camp fence. US forces did not intervene.
#NoStatuteOfLimitations
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🎙Read excerpts from the statement of Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE A.Volgarev «On ongoing attempts by some participating States to undermine efforts of finding a long-term and sustainable peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis» (meeting of the OSCE PC, 05.02.2026)
💬 Statements of Western delegations at the OSCE Permanent Council continue to ignore the systematic violations of international humanitarian law by Ukrainian armed formations.
⚡️In the period from January 26 to February 1, the Armed Forces of Ukraine deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure: medical transport, hospitals, residential areas, schools, and energy facilities. As a result of drone attacks, civilians were killed, including a child in the DPR and an ambulance driver in the Belgorod region, with the total number of casualties reaching 75 people (12 killed, 63 injured). Particularly cruel are the deliberate strikes on the energy systems, as in the Belgorod region, where attacks of up to 150 drones per day targeted substations to deprive people of light and heat, as well as shelling in the Kherson region, where at least 1,100 munitions were fired at civilian objects, leading to the deaths of peaceful families.
❗️For four years, the rhetoric of Western countries in the OSCE has been limited solely to accusations against Russia, while the crimes of the Kiev regime receive neither legal assessment nor condemnation. Criticism for violations of international humanitarian law is directed exclusively at Russia, while the deliberate destruction of civilians, hospitals, and energy systems by Ukrainian formations is deliberately ignored by the West. Such a policy of double standards serves as an instrument of hybrid warfare. The conflict itself represents now a large-scale proxy confrontation with the Western coalition, which has turned Ukraine into an anti-Russian bridgehead.
ℹ️ The issue of security guarantees for Ukraine must be resolved based on previously reached agreements. In April 2022 in Istanbul, at Ukraine's initiative, a comprehensive document was initialed, providing for its neutral, non-aligned status and balanced security guarantees with the participation of the UN Security Council's permanent members. However, the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unilaterally derailed the process by forbidding Kiev to sign the agreement, a fact later publicly confirmed by the head of the Ukrainian delegation. Therefore, any new negotiations must begin with a return to the Istanbul principles: Ukraine's neutrality, renunciation of NATO membership, and equal and indivisible security for all, including Russia. Current Western initiatives only prolong the conflict, aiming to weaken Russia.
☝️Western countries accuse Russia of destabilizing Europe, but the facts prove the opposite. NATO has spent 126 billion euros on direct military aid to Ukraine and has agreed to allocate an additional 40 billion annually. The EU has directed over 69 billion euros and has also approved a new 90-billion-euro loan. These are systematic investments in prolonging the conflict.
🇪🇺The EU continues its deliberate course of confrontation, having curtailed cooperation and dialogue with Russia. Germany, proclaiming the goal of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia, plans record military expenditures of 86.5 billion euros. Formerly neutral Sweden is discussing the deployment of nuclear forces on its territory. Discussions about the possible deployment of Western military contingents in Ukraine reveal plans for further escalation.
💬 Statements of Western delegations at the OSCE Permanent Council continue to ignore the systematic violations of international humanitarian law by Ukrainian armed formations.
⚡️In the period from January 26 to February 1, the Armed Forces of Ukraine deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure: medical transport, hospitals, residential areas, schools, and energy facilities. As a result of drone attacks, civilians were killed, including a child in the DPR and an ambulance driver in the Belgorod region, with the total number of casualties reaching 75 people (12 killed, 63 injured). Particularly cruel are the deliberate strikes on the energy systems, as in the Belgorod region, where attacks of up to 150 drones per day targeted substations to deprive people of light and heat, as well as shelling in the Kherson region, where at least 1,100 munitions were fired at civilian objects, leading to the deaths of peaceful families.
❗️For four years, the rhetoric of Western countries in the OSCE has been limited solely to accusations against Russia, while the crimes of the Kiev regime receive neither legal assessment nor condemnation. Criticism for violations of international humanitarian law is directed exclusively at Russia, while the deliberate destruction of civilians, hospitals, and energy systems by Ukrainian formations is deliberately ignored by the West. Such a policy of double standards serves as an instrument of hybrid warfare. The conflict itself represents now a large-scale proxy confrontation with the Western coalition, which has turned Ukraine into an anti-Russian bridgehead.
ℹ️ The issue of security guarantees for Ukraine must be resolved based on previously reached agreements. In April 2022 in Istanbul, at Ukraine's initiative, a comprehensive document was initialed, providing for its neutral, non-aligned status and balanced security guarantees with the participation of the UN Security Council's permanent members. However, the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unilaterally derailed the process by forbidding Kiev to sign the agreement, a fact later publicly confirmed by the head of the Ukrainian delegation. Therefore, any new negotiations must begin with a return to the Istanbul principles: Ukraine's neutrality, renunciation of NATO membership, and equal and indivisible security for all, including Russia. Current Western initiatives only prolong the conflict, aiming to weaken Russia.
☝️Western countries accuse Russia of destabilizing Europe, but the facts prove the opposite. NATO has spent 126 billion euros on direct military aid to Ukraine and has agreed to allocate an additional 40 billion annually. The EU has directed over 69 billion euros and has also approved a new 90-billion-euro loan. These are systematic investments in prolonging the conflict.
🇪🇺The EU continues its deliberate course of confrontation, having curtailed cooperation and dialogue with Russia. Germany, proclaiming the goal of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia, plans record military expenditures of 86.5 billion euros. Formerly neutral Sweden is discussing the deployment of nuclear forces on its territory. Discussions about the possible deployment of Western military contingents in Ukraine reveal plans for further escalation.
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🎙Read excerpts from the statement of Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE A.Volgarev «On ongoing violations of human rights of Russian and Russain-speaking population in Latvia» (meeting of the OSCE PC, 05.02.2026)
🗓 On January 27 of this year, a show trial took place in the Riga District Court. The scholar and historian Alexander Gaponenko was found guilty under the charges brought against him — inciting ethnic hatred (Article 78 of the Criminal Code) and aiding a foreign State in actions directed against Latvia, committed by a group of persons (Article 81). He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. This case has a purely political underpinning. Given the respectable age of the convicted and the unsatisfactory state of his health, this is tantamount to a death sentence.
❗️Overall, more and more of our compatriots are being detained on contrived pretexts or are under threat of arrest. Everything that is happening is yet another confirmation of Latvia's course toward persecuting dissenters through fabricated cases. There is a clear violation by Riga of its obligations under the OSCE, as well as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
🗓 On January 27 of this year, a show trial took place in the Riga District Court. The scholar and historian Alexander Gaponenko was found guilty under the charges brought against him — inciting ethnic hatred (Article 78 of the Criminal Code) and aiding a foreign State in actions directed against Latvia, committed by a group of persons (Article 81). He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. This case has a purely political underpinning. Given the respectable age of the convicted and the unsatisfactory state of his health, this is tantamount to a death sentence.
❗️Overall, more and more of our compatriots are being detained on contrived pretexts or are under threat of arrest. Everything that is happening is yet another confirmation of Latvia's course toward persecuting dissenters through fabricated cases. There is a clear violation by Riga of its obligations under the OSCE, as well as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
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🎙Read excerpts from the statement of Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the OSCE A.Volgarev «On International Sámi Day» (meeting of the OSCE PC, 05.02.2026)
🗓 On February 6 the international community celebrates the International Sámi Day. In Russia, the Sámi continue to preserve their distinctive way of life. This unique indigenous population primarily reside in the Murmansk Region. The region has 40 registered Sámi communities, whose main goals are to maintain, revive, and develop the traditional way of life, culture, and language, as well as to preserve the settlement territory and habitat of the indigenous population.
🇷🇺 Russian authorities are doing everything possible to ensure that the Sámi preserve their native language and ethnic self-awareness. To create conditions for preserving the Sámi language, the Plan of main activities for implementing the International Decade of Indigenous Languages in the Murmansk Region during 2022–2032 is being successfully carried out. The study of the Sámi language in the Murmansk Region is organized as part of extracurricular activities in the three districts of traditional residence.
ℹ️ To promote the distinctive Sámi national culture in Russia, various cultural and mass events are organized, including national holidays, festivals, exhibitions, round tables, seminars, conferences, creative meetings, and evenings.
☝️Unfortunately, the situation regarding the observance of Sámi rights in a number of Western countries is, to put it mildly, far from perfect. In Scandinavia, cases of their discrimination continue to be recorded.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health notes that the large-scale state policy of assimilation of the Sámi in Norway continues to have consequences to this day. Sámi face violence, persecution, and discrimination.
⚠️ Human rights defenders also have concerns. It is reported that in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the basic rights of the Sámi guaranteed, among other things, by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are being violated. In particular, when local authorities develop lands, extract resources, and introduce "green technologies," the relevant consultations take place without proper participation of the Sámi or their representatives. The principle of free, prior, and informed consent is not observed. As a result, the traditional way of life of the Sámi and their culture are under threat.
🇫🇮 The situation in Finland is particularly distressing. According to the 2025 report of the governmental Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission, large-scale discrimination and assimilation of the Sámi took place in the country. Such harmful practices continue to have consequences to this day. It is noted that in connection with Finland's accession to NATO and the expansion of corresponding military activity, the traditional places of residence of the Sámi have come under threat. Military-logistical infrastructure affects the traditional way of life of the Sámi, primarily reindeer herding, hunting, and fishing. The interests of the Sámi people were ignored by Helsinki during the process of joining the military-political bloc. The Sámi were not kept informed of developments and no consultations were held with the Sámi Parliament. Such militarization will have broad and far-reaching negative consequences.
🗓 On February 6 the international community celebrates the International Sámi Day. In Russia, the Sámi continue to preserve their distinctive way of life. This unique indigenous population primarily reside in the Murmansk Region. The region has 40 registered Sámi communities, whose main goals are to maintain, revive, and develop the traditional way of life, culture, and language, as well as to preserve the settlement territory and habitat of the indigenous population.
🇷🇺 Russian authorities are doing everything possible to ensure that the Sámi preserve their native language and ethnic self-awareness. To create conditions for preserving the Sámi language, the Plan of main activities for implementing the International Decade of Indigenous Languages in the Murmansk Region during 2022–2032 is being successfully carried out. The study of the Sámi language in the Murmansk Region is organized as part of extracurricular activities in the three districts of traditional residence.
ℹ️ To promote the distinctive Sámi national culture in Russia, various cultural and mass events are organized, including national holidays, festivals, exhibitions, round tables, seminars, conferences, creative meetings, and evenings.
☝️Unfortunately, the situation regarding the observance of Sámi rights in a number of Western countries is, to put it mildly, far from perfect. In Scandinavia, cases of their discrimination continue to be recorded.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health notes that the large-scale state policy of assimilation of the Sámi in Norway continues to have consequences to this day. Sámi face violence, persecution, and discrimination.
⚠️ Human rights defenders also have concerns. It is reported that in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, the basic rights of the Sámi guaranteed, among other things, by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are being violated. In particular, when local authorities develop lands, extract resources, and introduce "green technologies," the relevant consultations take place without proper participation of the Sámi or their representatives. The principle of free, prior, and informed consent is not observed. As a result, the traditional way of life of the Sámi and their culture are under threat.
🇫🇮 The situation in Finland is particularly distressing. According to the 2025 report of the governmental Sámi Truth and Reconciliation Commission, large-scale discrimination and assimilation of the Sámi took place in the country. Such harmful practices continue to have consequences to this day. It is noted that in connection with Finland's accession to NATO and the expansion of corresponding military activity, the traditional places of residence of the Sámi have come under threat. Military-logistical infrastructure affects the traditional way of life of the Sámi, primarily reindeer herding, hunting, and fishing. The interests of the Sámi people were ignored by Helsinki during the process of joining the military-political bloc. The Sámi were not kept informed of developments and no consultations were held with the Sámi Parliament. Such militarization will have broad and far-reaching negative consequences.
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#Announcement
🗓 On February 6, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks in Moscow with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Federal Councillor of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu (Türkiye).
Sergey Lavrov’s previous meeting with Ignazio Cassis and Feridun Sinirlioglu took place in New York in September 2025 on the sidelines of the high-level week as part of the High-Level Week of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Elected by the organisation’s members for one calendar year, the OSCE’s chairship-in-office is tasked with:
• coordinating the activities and holding consultations on current matters,
• appointing the heads of field missions and special representatives on conflicts and various issues,
• holding meetings of the OSCE’s decision-making bodies and other events.
The country assuming the OSCE chairmanship must focus on consensus-based approaches and take into account the diversity of opinions as expressed by member states as well as strictly adhere to the mandate of the chairship as set out in the decision of the 2002 OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Porto noscriptd “The role of the OSCE chairmanship-in-office” and the Permanent Council Decision No. 845 dated 2002 noscriptd “OSCE statements and public information.”
Considering the current situation within the OSCE, it can hardly play any role in ensuring security within the new multipolar world order. There is no doubt that the OSCE could benefit from taking into account the experience of associations such as the #SCO, #BRICS and the #CIS, where countries have been guided by the principles of equality and mutual support.
The talks will focus on overcoming the deep crisis the OSCE is currently experiencing. It results from the destructive actions by some Western countries, who have been seeking to exploit the OSCE in the pursuit of their vested interests, including by unleashing an anti-Russian hysteria. Finland was proactive in encouraging this posture during its chairmanship-in-office in 2025. It failed to fulfil its mandate as an honest broker. In particular, nothing was done to bring the three security dimensions – politico-military, economic and environmental, and humanitarian – back to normal. There has been virtually no progress along these tracks since 2022 which is attributable to an almost total Ukrainisation of the OSCE agenda.
🇷🇺 Russia intends to discuss the prospects for addressing the existing problems while respecting the interests of all the participating countries.
<...>
During the meeting, participants will pay special attention to the OSCE’s economic and environmental dimension, which is designed to harmonise the interests of the participating states in the corresponding sectors. Russia will stress that it is unacceptable to use tools pertaining to the second basket when assessing environmental damage in Ukraine and promoting manifestly confrontational positions such as subjecting climate-related matters to the security agenda.
<...>
The Foreign Minister will focus on the most recent issues within the OSCE space, i.e., countering the manifestations of neo-Nazism, preventing the falsification of history and media censorship, defending traditional values, the rights of believers and ethnic minorities.
Sergey Lavrov also intends to point out there has been a tendency for over three years now to replace OSCE’s key events, including the Humanitarian Segment of the OSCE Review Conference, with formats operating outside of the consensus rule.
<...>
Russia will draw the Chairperson-in-Office’s attention to the need to address Russia’s obvious underrepresentation in senior political roles within the OSCE, as well as the need to ensure that Russian candidates are treated in an impartial manner.
🗓 On February 6, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks in Moscow with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Federal Councillor of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu (Türkiye).
Sergey Lavrov’s previous meeting with Ignazio Cassis and Feridun Sinirlioglu took place in New York in September 2025 on the sidelines of the high-level week as part of the High-Level Week of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Elected by the organisation’s members for one calendar year, the OSCE’s chairship-in-office is tasked with:
• coordinating the activities and holding consultations on current matters,
• appointing the heads of field missions and special representatives on conflicts and various issues,
• holding meetings of the OSCE’s decision-making bodies and other events.
The country assuming the OSCE chairmanship must focus on consensus-based approaches and take into account the diversity of opinions as expressed by member states as well as strictly adhere to the mandate of the chairship as set out in the decision of the 2002 OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Porto noscriptd “The role of the OSCE chairmanship-in-office” and the Permanent Council Decision No. 845 dated 2002 noscriptd “OSCE statements and public information.”
Considering the current situation within the OSCE, it can hardly play any role in ensuring security within the new multipolar world order. There is no doubt that the OSCE could benefit from taking into account the experience of associations such as the #SCO, #BRICS and the #CIS, where countries have been guided by the principles of equality and mutual support.
The talks will focus on overcoming the deep crisis the OSCE is currently experiencing. It results from the destructive actions by some Western countries, who have been seeking to exploit the OSCE in the pursuit of their vested interests, including by unleashing an anti-Russian hysteria. Finland was proactive in encouraging this posture during its chairmanship-in-office in 2025. It failed to fulfil its mandate as an honest broker. In particular, nothing was done to bring the three security dimensions – politico-military, economic and environmental, and humanitarian – back to normal. There has been virtually no progress along these tracks since 2022 which is attributable to an almost total Ukrainisation of the OSCE agenda.
🇷🇺 Russia intends to discuss the prospects for addressing the existing problems while respecting the interests of all the participating countries.
<...>
During the meeting, participants will pay special attention to the OSCE’s economic and environmental dimension, which is designed to harmonise the interests of the participating states in the corresponding sectors. Russia will stress that it is unacceptable to use tools pertaining to the second basket when assessing environmental damage in Ukraine and promoting manifestly confrontational positions such as subjecting climate-related matters to the security agenda.
<...>
The Foreign Minister will focus on the most recent issues within the OSCE space, i.e., countering the manifestations of neo-Nazism, preventing the falsification of history and media censorship, defending traditional values, the rights of believers and ethnic minorities.
Sergey Lavrov also intends to point out there has been a tendency for over three years now to replace OSCE’s key events, including the Humanitarian Segment of the OSCE Review Conference, with formats operating outside of the consensus rule.
<...>
Russia will draw the Chairperson-in-Office’s attention to the need to address Russia’s obvious underrepresentation in senior political roles within the OSCE, as well as the need to ensure that Russian candidates are treated in an impartial manner.
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🔴 #LIVE: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during talks with Chairperson-in-Office, Federal Councillor of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu in Moscow.
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🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during talks with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Federal Councillor of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu (Moscow, February 6, 2026)
💬 Mr Minister,
Mr Secretary General,
Colleagues.
We are delighted to see you. Having assumed the Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Switzerland, the country you, Your Excellency Ignazio Cassis, represent, has shown interest in resuming a meaningful diplomatic conversation with the Russian Federation. We appreciate this.
Of course, the fact that his Excellency OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu is taking part in our talks will make them even more focused and substantial, since we will have to discuss global processes which have been affecting the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in an extremely negative way.
I will not elaborate on the examples demonstrating how the OSCE found itself in the current state of an abysmal crisis and on the brink of self-destruction. The reason is quite simple and consists of a radical rejection by most Western countries of the high principles set out in the Helsinki Final Act, as well as declarations adopted at the subsequent OSCE summits.
Yesterday, we started the conversation on this sensitive topic in an informal setting with all of you who are present here today. It is our hope that we will continue this discussion today, this time as part of a formal meeting.
In order to assure the media that we are not trying to hide anything from them, let me tell you right away that we will not hold a joint news conference. Minister Ignazio Cassis decided to talk to the media upon returning to Switzerland. As for us, we will make sure to meet with the press once we wave our guests goodbye.
💬 Mr Minister,
Mr Secretary General,
Colleagues.
We are delighted to see you. Having assumed the Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Switzerland, the country you, Your Excellency Ignazio Cassis, represent, has shown interest in resuming a meaningful diplomatic conversation with the Russian Federation. We appreciate this.
Of course, the fact that his Excellency OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu is taking part in our talks will make them even more focused and substantial, since we will have to discuss global processes which have been affecting the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in an extremely negative way.
I will not elaborate on the examples demonstrating how the OSCE found itself in the current state of an abysmal crisis and on the brink of self-destruction. The reason is quite simple and consists of a radical rejection by most Western countries of the high principles set out in the Helsinki Final Act, as well as declarations adopted at the subsequent OSCE summits.
Yesterday, we started the conversation on this sensitive topic in an informal setting with all of you who are present here today. It is our hope that we will continue this discussion today, this time as part of a formal meeting.
In order to assure the media that we are not trying to hide anything from them, let me tell you right away that we will not hold a joint news conference. Minister Ignazio Cassis decided to talk to the media upon returning to Switzerland. As for us, we will make sure to meet with the press once we wave our guests goodbye.
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💐 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Federal Councillor of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden (Moscow, 6 February 2026)
The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OSCE Dmitry Polyanskiy also took part in the ceremony.
© video Ruptly
The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the OSCE Dmitry Polyanskiy also took part in the ceremony.
© video Ruptly
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#KievRegimeCrimes
📄 The Final Report on the crimes committed by the Kiev regime in 2025 has been published, prepared by the Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik.
In 2025 alone, Ukrainian armed groups fired at least 130,627 munitions at Russian civilian facilities – over 42,000 more strikes than in 2024 (when the number of attacks reached at least 87,885). The average daily number of shelling incidents in 2025 exceeded 350.
The increase in Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia was observed primarily during periods when attempts were being made to advance a negotiation process to resolve the conflict, including US initiatives.
❗️ Such actions may be viewed as a systematic approach by Kiev aimed at undermining peace initiatives.
◼️ Over 12 months, at least 6,483 civilians were affected by the criminal actions of Ukrainian militants. Of these, at least 5,418 were injured or maimed, and no fewer than 1,065 civilians were killed.
At least 293 minors were affected – 22 children were killed and 271 injured. The youngest injured child was just 3 months old.
Since February 2022, as a result of decisions taken by the Ukrainian political leadership and the execution of criminal orders by militants of the Kiev regime, at least 7,746 civilians have been killed.
The total number of civilians affected since the start of the special military operation amounts to at least 26,148 people, including no fewer than 18,402 injured or maimed.
◼️ The “hunt” for Russian journalists has become an important element of the criminal strategy of the Kiev regime, aimed at preventing the disclosure of reliable information about the real situation along the line of contact and the war crimes of Ukrainian militants.
In 2025, there was a significant increase in attacks on Russian journalists. During the reporting period, 7 media representatives were killed and 10 were wounded to varying degrees of severity.
◼️ The Kiev regime continued to deliberately obstruct the rescue of civilians injured by UAF attacks. Over the past 12 months, 5 rescuers were killed and 78 were injured as a result of Ukrainian shelling.
◼️ Over the year, at least 81 cases of shelling of medical facilities were recorded. In addition, militants of the UAF disabled no fewer than 56 units of specialized medical transport.
As a result of UAF attacks on ambulances, medical facilities and individual medical teams, 50 healthcare workers were affected – 10 were killed while performing their professional duties, and 40 were injured to varying degrees of severity.
☢️ The Ukrainian side repeatedly attempted strikes on facilities whose destruction could lead to the “release of hazardous elements”, first and foremost nuclear power plants.
During the period under review, at least 29 attempted strikes on Russia’s nuclear energy facilities were recorded. The Zaporozhye NPP was attacked 23 times, while the Novovoronezh, Kursk and Smolensk NPPs were each attacked twice.
Due to UAF shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP territory, #IAEA observer rotations were disrupted twice. Moreover, because of continuous Ukrainian strikes on power transmission lines supplying the plant, the NPP operated in isolated mode without connection to the energy grid for one and a half months.
⚖️ Russian investigative authorities are consistently and systematically taking measures to bring Ukrainian militants to criminal responsibility.
In 2025, the Investigative Committee of Russia initiated 3,208 criminal cases related to crimes committed by Ukrainian armed formations.
To date, 874 criminal cases have been referred by prosecutors to the courts against accused Ukrainian servicemen and mercenaries. Courts have already issued convictions in 810 cases, involving 1,078 individuals.
👉 Full version of the report (PDF)
📄 The Final Report on the crimes committed by the Kiev regime in 2025 has been published, prepared by the Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rodion Miroshnik.
In 2025 alone, Ukrainian armed groups fired at least 130,627 munitions at Russian civilian facilities – over 42,000 more strikes than in 2024 (when the number of attacks reached at least 87,885). The average daily number of shelling incidents in 2025 exceeded 350.
The increase in Ukrainian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Russia was observed primarily during periods when attempts were being made to advance a negotiation process to resolve the conflict, including US initiatives.
❗️ Such actions may be viewed as a systematic approach by Kiev aimed at undermining peace initiatives.
◼️ Over 12 months, at least 6,483 civilians were affected by the criminal actions of Ukrainian militants. Of these, at least 5,418 were injured or maimed, and no fewer than 1,065 civilians were killed.
At least 293 minors were affected – 22 children were killed and 271 injured. The youngest injured child was just 3 months old.
Since February 2022, as a result of decisions taken by the Ukrainian political leadership and the execution of criminal orders by militants of the Kiev regime, at least 7,746 civilians have been killed.
The total number of civilians affected since the start of the special military operation amounts to at least 26,148 people, including no fewer than 18,402 injured or maimed.
◼️ The “hunt” for Russian journalists has become an important element of the criminal strategy of the Kiev regime, aimed at preventing the disclosure of reliable information about the real situation along the line of contact and the war crimes of Ukrainian militants.
In 2025, there was a significant increase in attacks on Russian journalists. During the reporting period, 7 media representatives were killed and 10 were wounded to varying degrees of severity.
◼️ The Kiev regime continued to deliberately obstruct the rescue of civilians injured by UAF attacks. Over the past 12 months, 5 rescuers were killed and 78 were injured as a result of Ukrainian shelling.
◼️ Over the year, at least 81 cases of shelling of medical facilities were recorded. In addition, militants of the UAF disabled no fewer than 56 units of specialized medical transport.
As a result of UAF attacks on ambulances, medical facilities and individual medical teams, 50 healthcare workers were affected – 10 were killed while performing their professional duties, and 40 were injured to varying degrees of severity.
☢️ The Ukrainian side repeatedly attempted strikes on facilities whose destruction could lead to the “release of hazardous elements”, first and foremost nuclear power plants.
During the period under review, at least 29 attempted strikes on Russia’s nuclear energy facilities were recorded. The Zaporozhye NPP was attacked 23 times, while the Novovoronezh, Kursk and Smolensk NPPs were each attacked twice.
Due to UAF shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP territory, #IAEA observer rotations were disrupted twice. Moreover, because of continuous Ukrainian strikes on power transmission lines supplying the plant, the NPP operated in isolated mode without connection to the energy grid for one and a half months.
⚖️ Russian investigative authorities are consistently and systematically taking measures to bring Ukrainian militants to criminal responsibility.
In 2025, the Investigative Committee of Russia initiated 3,208 criminal cases related to crimes committed by Ukrainian armed formations.
To date, 874 criminal cases have been referred by prosecutors to the courts against accused Ukrainian servicemen and mercenaries. Courts have already issued convictions in 810 cases, involving 1,078 individuals.
👉 Full version of the report (PDF)
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement following talks with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis, and OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu (Moscow, February 6, 2026)
Key points:
• As you are aware, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired yesterday. A vacuum has emerged. Our position was articulated comprehensively in a special statement issued by our Ministry. We will proceed from the understanding that Russia is prepared for any eventuality. We favour dialogue and will await indications that the United States is similarly ready to engage.
• The reasons [of a major crisis in the OSCE] clearly lie in what NATO and EU countries are doing. Long ago, well before the events in Ukraine, they set about bringing the Organisation to heel. After the special military operation began, their goal expanded to include putting the Organisation at the service of the hybrid war against the Russian Federation and supporting the hot war against our country unleashed by the hands of the Ukrainian regime.
• Almost the entire OSCE agenda, with very rare exceptions, has been Ukrainised, including the areas that should have been devoted to mutually advantageous cooperation and the quest for specific generally acceptable projects in transport, communications, logistics, investment, and humanitarian matters.
• We discussed, in a broader context, things we could do to ensure that the OSCE retains its importance and stays alive. We updated our colleagues in detail on President Putin’s initiative to form a Greater Eurasian Partnership, which would serve as a material foundation of Eurasian architecture of equal and indivisible security open to all countries and associations of our common Eurasian continent.
• Across all three OSCE “baskets” – the military and political, economic, and humanitarian dimensions – there is either complete stagnation or Ukrainisation.
• Our colleagues, particularly OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu, have actively supported our position that it is unacceptable for an entity described as an organisation to lack a formal charter. The institutions that have developed within its framework operate without universally agreed rules, despite the OSCE’s proclaimed adherence to the principle of consensus.
• Nearly twenty years ago, in 2007, the Russian Federation, together with its CIS and CSTO partners, circulated specific proposals, including a draft charter and draft documents setting out the principles and procedures governing the work of all OSCE institutions. Back then, the West did everything possible to obstruct this effort.
• The advice we gave to our counterparts was not to pursue sweeping global ambitions such as transforming the OSCE into the central institution for nearly all developments in this part of Eurasia, but instead to begin by restoring the normal functioning of the military-political mechanisms that have become inactive, through no fault of our own, as well as those in the economic and humanitarian dimensions. We concluded our discussions here with an agreement to maintain contact.
📄 Read in full
Key points:
• As you are aware, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired yesterday. A vacuum has emerged. Our position was articulated comprehensively in a special statement issued by our Ministry. We will proceed from the understanding that Russia is prepared for any eventuality. We favour dialogue and will await indications that the United States is similarly ready to engage.
• The reasons [of a major crisis in the OSCE] clearly lie in what NATO and EU countries are doing. Long ago, well before the events in Ukraine, they set about bringing the Organisation to heel. After the special military operation began, their goal expanded to include putting the Organisation at the service of the hybrid war against the Russian Federation and supporting the hot war against our country unleashed by the hands of the Ukrainian regime.
• Almost the entire OSCE agenda, with very rare exceptions, has been Ukrainised, including the areas that should have been devoted to mutually advantageous cooperation and the quest for specific generally acceptable projects in transport, communications, logistics, investment, and humanitarian matters.
• We discussed, in a broader context, things we could do to ensure that the OSCE retains its importance and stays alive. We updated our colleagues in detail on President Putin’s initiative to form a Greater Eurasian Partnership, which would serve as a material foundation of Eurasian architecture of equal and indivisible security open to all countries and associations of our common Eurasian continent.
• Across all three OSCE “baskets” – the military and political, economic, and humanitarian dimensions – there is either complete stagnation or Ukrainisation.
• Our colleagues, particularly OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu, have actively supported our position that it is unacceptable for an entity described as an organisation to lack a formal charter. The institutions that have developed within its framework operate without universally agreed rules, despite the OSCE’s proclaimed adherence to the principle of consensus.
• Nearly twenty years ago, in 2007, the Russian Federation, together with its CIS and CSTO partners, circulated specific proposals, including a draft charter and draft documents setting out the principles and procedures governing the work of all OSCE institutions. Back then, the West did everything possible to obstruct this effort.
• The advice we gave to our counterparts was not to pursue sweeping global ambitions such as transforming the OSCE into the central institution for nearly all developments in this part of Eurasia, but instead to begin by restoring the normal functioning of the military-political mechanisms that have become inactive, through no fault of our own, as well as those in the economic and humanitarian dimensions. We concluded our discussions here with an agreement to maintain contact.
📄 Read in full
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