🟥 On April 30, 1945, during the storming of the #Reichstag, the very first Red Banner was installed on the building's facade by 20-year-old Rakhimzhan #Qoshqarbaev and 19-year-old Grigory #Bulatov.

🎖 For the heroism shown during the battle, they were both awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Monuments to the heroes were erected in their hometowns.

📅 The #VictoryBanner, which became a symbol of the triumph of the Soviet Union and its peoples in the fight against Nazism, was raised atop the Reichstag, the Nazi Seat of Power, in the early hours of May 1,1945

A battle flag of the 150th Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Idritsa-Pursuit Division, 79th Pursuit Corps, 3rd Shock Troops, 1st Belarusian Front became the Victory Banner; Sergeant Mikhail Egorov, Junior Sergeant Meliton Kantariya and Lieutenant Alexey Berest raised the banner on the roof of the Reichstag.

📂 Today, the Victory Banner is a historic relic stored in a special capsule in a banner foundation located in underground premises at the Central Museum of the Russian Armed Forces. The bright red linen remains the main symbol of the Great Patriotic War, a pride of all peoples of the Soviet Union who contributed to our common Victory.

#Victory78 #WeRemember

🕯 May 2 marks nine years since the tragic events in Odessa, which culminated in the bone-chilling massacre in the House of Trade Unions.

On that day, Ukrainian radical nationalists intentionally set fire to the building where an opposition group against the new authorities had taken refuge. As a result, 48 people were burned alive, poisoned by carbon monoxide or died after falling from the windows of the upper floors.

The world watched the developments practically in real time, with the terrible footage of charred corpses circulating online.

⚠️ In fact, the Kiev regime repeated what Bandera’s death squads did to Khatyn in Belarus 80 years ago.

It is outrageous that the incident was never fully investigated. For appearance sake, the Kiev authorities found a scapegoat – former public security police chief Dmitry Fuchedzhi. No other perpetrators of the crime have been punished.

💬 Maria Zakharova (briefing of April 27, 2023): “Many of those who were caught on camera and could be identified as taking part in killing people not only remained free, but went on to become public figures in Ukraine, where the state positions itself as a “flagship of democracy” in the region. Only people of that kind could climb up the social ladder in this atmosphere of lawlessness, police brutality, authoritarianism and gross human rights violations.”

❗️ We will never forget the tragedy in Odessa. We will insist that everyone involved in this brutal crime be identified and held responsible.

#NoStatuteOfLimitations

⚡️ Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on US-South Korean joint nuclear planning

💬 We took note of reports about the United States and the Republic of Korea reaching an agreement on joint nuclear employment planning. This development is of a clearly destabilising nature and will have serious negative consequences for regional security with a projection on global stability.

The United States and its APR allies have blatantly outlined a move towards duplicating, in this region, the so-called “extended nuclear deterrence” schemes, which are potentially destructive to international security and which Washington has practiced within NATO, a self-styled “nuclear alliance,” for decades since the end of Cold War, with full support from other NATO members.

☝️ We are confident that this practice, if further extended by the collective West, will do nothing but foment tensions, aggravate security-related crisis phenomena, and provoke an arms race.

⚠️ We call on the United States and its allies, which, in their search for determinative military superiority, are implementing a number of military programmes undermining global strategic stability, to stop rocking the boat and desist from steps leading to the decline in the general level of security for all states.

⚡️ Foreign Ministry Statement on the seizure of the Russian Embassy school in Warsaw

On April 29, the Polish authorities burst into the grounds of the Russian Embassy school in Warsaw with the aim of seizing it.

We regard this latest hostile action by the Polish authorities as a flagrant violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and an infringement on Russia’s diplomatic property in Poland.

❗️ Warsaw’s arrogant move, which runs contrary to the standards of civilised interstate behaviour, will not remain unanswered and will have consequences for the Polish authorities and Poland’s interests in Russia.

The architects of such divisive, illegal and incendiary moves should bear this in mind.

🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, April 27, 2023)

🔹 FM Sergey #Lavrov’s schedule
🔹 #UkraineCrisis
🔹 #BlackSeaInitiative
🔹 On FM Sergey Lavrov tour to #LatinAmerica
🔹 On FM Sergey Lavrov visit to UN headquarters in New York
🔹 Russian MFA report on the human rights situation in Ukraine
🔹 Russian Embassy staff expelled from Sweden
🔹 Events scheduled for World Press Freedom Day

And much more...

📚 Read in full

Talking points:

#Ukraine

The West says openly that they will do everything possible to facilitate a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive, supposedly due to begin in the near future. They are not hiding the fact that they are behind all these plans. They have repeatedly noted their involvement in tactical target acquisition, and now they are creating a strategic disposition.

Representatives from the “collective West” are also demanding openly that Russia sustain the maximum possible losses. So, they are reaffirming their direct involvement in the conflict once again.

#BlackSeaInitiative

Russia extended it for only 60 days, arguing that it did not consider its implementation as satisfactory. We made our position clear. We received a package of proposals from the UN Secretary-General addressed to President of Russia Vladimir Putin on the development, implementation and further progress of the Black Sea initiative.

All of this will be thoroughly analysed. The decision will be made based on the results of interdepartmental study.

✍️ President Vladimir Putin sent greetings to President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the successful constitutional referendum.

The results of the nationwide vote testify to the wide support for the course you are pursuing to strengthen government institutions, protect citizens’ rights and ensure the country’s stable socioeconomic development.

🤝 We hope that the constitutional reform in Uzbekistan will facilitate further improvement of the strategic partnership and allied relations between our countries.

📄 Excerpts from the Report of the Russian Foreign Ministry "Human rights situation in Ukraine" (2023):

Perpetuating the memory of the Nazis at the legislative level

⚠️ Including decisions on celebrating memorable dates and anniversaries of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators in the resolutions that are adopted annually by the Verkhovnaya Rada of Ukraine is among notable manifestations of Kiev’s state policy to “preserve national memory”.

❗️ In addition, in 2018, the Verkhovnaya Rada approved the slogan of the OUN nationalists “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!” which is a copy of the infamous Nazi salute, for use as a salute in the army and law enforcement agencies.

The anniversaries of the following Nazi collaborators were put on the calendar of memorable dates and anniversaries:

- Vladimir Kubiyovich – initiator of the SS Galicia Division;
- Ivan Poltavets-Ostryanitsa - participant of massacres of Jews;
- Vasiliy Levkovich - commander of the Bug Military District as part of the UPA;
- Ulas Samchuk - published anti-Semitic articles calling for killing Jews;
- Vasiliy Sidor - participant of punitive operations;
- Andrey Melnik - organiser of mass killings of Jews;
- Alexander Vyshnivskiy - organiser of the SS Galicia Division;
- Yaroslav Starukh - organiser of Jewish pogroms;
- Vasiliy Galas - one of OUN leaders, organiser of Jewish pogroms.

The Ministry of Education and Science has been instructed to conduct lessons and awareness raising events. Commemorative coins and postage stamps in honour of these individuals will be issued.

👎 The Verkhovnaya Rada adopted a resolution on celebrating memorable dates and anniversaries, included the 80th anniversary of the creation of the UPA and the 110th anniversary of Stepan Bandera’s ally Yaroslav Stetsko, 130th anniversary of SS Galicia Division member Porfiriy Silenko-Kravets and 130th anniversary of Yury Polyanskiy, who was the burgomaster of Lvov under the Nazis and was directly involved in the killings of Jews and Poles.

Read in full

🎙 Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s answer to a media question on the establishment of a new EU partnership mission in Moldova

❓Question: On April 24, the EU Council approved the establishment of a new EU partnership mission in Moldova. What is your comment on this decision?

💬 Maria Zakharova: In fact, this decision was adopted at the EU ministerial meeting in Luxembourg on April 24. We are seeing more active attempts by the EU to find a firmer foothold in the post-Soviet space using the deployment of their field presence as a tool.

In using the word “partner” for its new mission, the EU is, as always, dissembling. The mission is being deployed as part of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy. This name should not create any illusions as to what the EU’s representatives will be doing in Moldova: in fact, they will be exercising administrative influence locally.

The history of the EU’s mediating efforts is well known.

👉 Take, for example, its futile attempts to implement the agreement on creating a Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo, which has been reached within the framework of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and is being openly stonewalled by the Kosovo authorities with full connivance from the US and EU.

👉 The EU’s “civilian” mission in Armenia, deployed for geopolitical reasons in February 2023, is not facilitating the normalisation of relations in the South Caucasus either.

Thus, the EU has little to show us so far.

❌ The EU’s new presence in Moldova, given its radically changed identity and its transformation into a geopolitical tool in the hands of the United States and NATO, one committing openly confrontational acts towards Russia, is unlikely to help stabilise the situation in the country or in the surrounding region, so, it should be treated accordingly.

02.05.2014, Ukrainian Nazis burned dozens of people alive in Odessa’s Trade Union House. Justice still not served.

🇨🇦Harper&Trudeau silent.

But we will identify&prosecute. Never forget!

⚡️ Last night, the Kiev regime attempted a drone strike against the residence of the President of the Russian Federation at the Kremlin.

Two unmanned aerial vehicles targeted the Kremlin. Timely action by the military and special services involving radar systems enabled them to disable the devices.

They crashed in the Kremlin grounds, scattering fragments without causing any casualties or damage.

⚠️ We consider these actions a premeditated terrorist attack and an assassination attempt targeting the President, carried out ahead of Victory Day and the May 9 Parade, where foreign guests are expected to be present, among others.

The President has not suffered in this terrorist attack. His working schedule remains unchanged and follows its ordinary course.

❗️ Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures wherever and whenever it deems appropriate.

🗓 The Russian Federation’s UN Security Council Presidency concluded on April 30.

Despite the Western delegations’ efforts to escalate tensions at the Security Council, we managed to ensure the effective work of this critical UN body.

❗️ The above period was marked by a number of key events sponsored by our country:

• Security Council open debate on April 10 on “Risks stemming from violations of the agreements regulating the export of weapons and military equipment”.

• The Security Council’s high-level open debate on April 24 noscriptd “Effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations” chaired by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was the second central event.

• Other milestone events include the quarterly open ministerial debates on April 25 on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, which were chaired by Sergey Lavrov as well.

On April 5, the Russian delegation held an informal Arria-formula Security Council meeting on evacuating children from the special military operation zone.

☝️ During the Russian presidency, the events envisaged by the Security Council April reporting and mandate cycles were carried out in full.

🇷🇺🇺🇳 During its Presidency, Russia operated on the premise of the importance of reaffirming the Security Council’s role as an effective tool for coordinating efforts to find answers to threats to international peace and security.

📅 May 3 is World Press Freedom Day as declared by the UN General Assembly in 1993. Its original intended purpose was to attract attention to ensuring free operation of the media, protecting journalists’ rights, and creating conditions for their safe work.

But we have to state with regret that reasons for satisfaction with this are few and far between. Unfortunately, the real state of affairs in this area testifies to the fact that the world has a long way to go before it attains the ideals of pluralism in differing views and freedom of the media.

⚠️ The US-led collective West continues its uncompromising crusade against dissent in mass media with total disregard of its international commitments to protect their legitimate rights and imposes on the world public a distorted picture of the world based on one-sided and politicised interpretations of current developments. It uses any unseemly method ranging from direct broadcasting bans to ungrounded refusals to issue visas to journalists.

Freedom of access to information has deteriorated especially in the Baltic states, in Moldova, and in Ukraine, whose authorities have started using openly terroristic methods of eliminating dissent.

In their hypocrisy, the Western “advanced democracies” close their eyes to the cruel murders of Russian journalists Darya Dugina, Vladlen Tatarsky, and Oleg Klokov. Their appointees in the executive bodies of international organisations and human rights mechanisms obediently play up to this sordid policy.

A serious destabilising factor is the arbitrary nature of internet monopolies that tend to moderate content on instructions from Washington.

❗️ We must not allow the universally conceived World Press Freedom Day to serve the narratives of a narrow group of countries and to degenerate by degree into sheer profanation. There is a need for an honest review of media freedom and journalist safety, one not distorted by aggressive Western propaganda.

🇷🇺🇯🇴📞 On May 3, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Ayman Al-Safadi.

The Ministers exchanged views on current issues on the Middle East agenda. The parties emphasised mutual interest in continuing to coordinate approaches to resolving conflict situations and crises that have a negative impact on regional and international stability and security.

Mr Safadi spoke about the results of the May 1 meeting of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Mr Lavrov welcomed the willingness to assume a leading role in facilitating the Syrian settlement that was expressed at the meeting, including the solutions to humanitarian problems, the restoration of infrastructure, the return of refugees, the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, and the continuation of the intra-Syrian political process. It is fundamentally important to confirm the need for the full restoration of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the SAR.

In addition, the further strengthening of Russian-Jordanian bilateral cooperation was discussed.

#RussiaJordan

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova

💬 It is primarily the creators and curators of the Kiev regime in Washington, London and NATO in general who are to be held accountable for Kiev’s actions.

They were the ones who destroyed Ukraine’s legitimate government, placed opportunists and thugs at the helm, gave them money and weapons, as well as a feeling of all-permissiveness and impunity, plus a political cover-up and military support.

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement on the attempted terrorist attacks against the Moscow Kremlin – the residence of the President of the Russian Federation

❗️ The Foreign Ministry firmly condemns the attempted terrorist attacks against the Moscow Kremlin on the night of May 2, when it was targeted by unmanned aerial vehicles.

There is no doubt that the Kiev regime is behind these attacks. It has a long-standing record of intentionally supporting and employing terrorist methods against civilian infrastructure and civilians, including the October 8, 2022, explosion on the Crimean Bridge, strikes against non-military targets in the Bryansk, Belgorod and Rostov regions, as well as many acts of sabotage. Now comes Moscow.

This crime is aggravated by the fact that the Moscow Kremlin serves as the residence of the Head of State. What makes the actions of the neo-Nazi Ukrainian authorities especially cynical is that they made an attempt to assassinate the President of Russia ahead of Victory Day and the May 9 Parade. <...>

☝️ Crimes like this cannot go unanswered. The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case into actions designed to intimidate and terrorise people, inflict damage and kill people as a means of influencing the decision-making process by government agencies. We are certain that those who bear the blame for these acts will be identified. They will face imminent and inevitable punishment.

<...>

The silence on behalf of the collective West demonstrates its connivance with the terrorist methods employed by the neo-Nazi extremist regime in Kiev.

The Foreign Ministry believes that the international community and international organisations which are free from double standards and seek guidance from international law must condemn this new criminal undertaking by the Kiev regime. <...>

❗️ The Foreign Ministry reaffirms that Russia reserves the right to take countermeasures in response to these outrageous acts of terrorism.

Read in full

📸 #PhotoOfTheDay

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hold talks "on the sidelines" of the SCO Ministerial in Panaji (Goa), India

#DruzhbaDosti