Happy birthday, dear Saint Petersburg!
😍 On this day in 1703, Peter the Great laid the first stone of the Peter and Paul Fortress – and one of Europe's most dazzling cities was born. What started as a wartime outpost quickly grew into Russia's capital, a role it held for over two centuries until the government moved back to Moscow after the 1917 Revolution.
The city has a turbulent history. It survived devastating floods, revolutions, and the 872-day Siege during World War II. It even changed its name three times: from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd (1914), then Leningrad (1924), and back again to Saint Petersburg in 1991.
Today, St Petersburg remains one of the world's great cultural capitals – famous for its grandiose architecture, rivers and canals, the legendary White Nights, and the iconic drawbridges rising over the Neva after midnight.
It is also home to globally renowned landmarks such as the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, and the Mariinsky Theatre. Every corner of this city tells a story.
#VisitRussia and #See4Yourself
The city has a turbulent history. It survived devastating floods, revolutions, and the 872-day Siege during World War II. It even changed its name three times: from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd (1914), then Leningrad (1924), and back again to Saint Petersburg in 1991.
Today, St Petersburg remains one of the world's great cultural capitals – famous for its grandiose architecture, rivers and canals, the legendary White Nights, and the iconic drawbridges rising over the Neva after midnight.
It is also home to globally renowned landmarks such as the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, and the Mariinsky Theatre. Every corner of this city tells a story.
#VisitRussia and #See4Yourself
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🇷🇺🇺🇳 Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia’s press conference on Ukraine’s strikes on the pedagogical college in Starobelsk (New York, 26 May 2026)
Video of the press conference
💬 As you know, on May 22, the Ukrainian militants carried out a targeted strike on a college and a dormitory in the city of Starobelsk, LPR.
The dormitory housed 86 students aged between 14 and 19, as well as one staff member. Children and teenagers were inside the building.
They were not on the battlefield. They were not taking part – and could not have taken part – in hostilities. They were asleep. It was at that very moment that the strike took place, turning an ordinary night in a student dormitory into a nightmare.
According to the latest reports, 21 people were killed in this horrific attack, most of them young girls, and 63 students were injured. Many of the wounded remain in hospital, some in critical condition.
❗️The strike did not target a command post, fortified positions, an ammunition depot or military barracks – it targeted a civilian facility.
***
The deliberate nature of the attack is also evidenced by the fact that it was carried out in three waves involving 16 UAVs, all striking the same location. As a result, the five-storey dormitory building collapsed down to the second floor.
This is yet another glaring manifestation of the Nazi and terrorist nature of the Kiev regime, which does not hesitate to carry out the cold-blooded killing of minors. Russian investigative authorities have opened a criminal case under the article on a terrorist act.
👉 All those responsible will be identified and will face inevitable and severe punishment.
***
To dispel any doubts, on May 24, the Russian Side invited more than 50 foreign journalists from 19 countries to Starobelsk – including Austria, Brazil, the UK, Hungary, Venezuela, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Qatar, China, Cuba, Lebanon, the UAE, Pakistan, the US, Türkiye, Finland and France – so that they could see with their own eyes what had happened there.
They confirmed the accuracy of the information we had provided.
Western capitals can talk endlessly about children’s rights, but their reaction to the tragedy in Starobelsk shows that, in their worldview, children have long been divided into “convenient” and “inconvenient” victims.
When a child’s suffering can be used against Russia, an international scandal erupts immediately. But when children are killed as a result of the Kiev regime’s deliberate actions, it is as if the tragedy never happened – only reservations, doubts and references to “context” remain.
⚠️ This is no longer even double standards. It is moral decay and disgrace.
Read in full
Video of the press conference
💬 As you know, on May 22, the Ukrainian militants carried out a targeted strike on a college and a dormitory in the city of Starobelsk, LPR.
The dormitory housed 86 students aged between 14 and 19, as well as one staff member. Children and teenagers were inside the building.
They were not on the battlefield. They were not taking part – and could not have taken part – in hostilities. They were asleep. It was at that very moment that the strike took place, turning an ordinary night in a student dormitory into a nightmare.
According to the latest reports, 21 people were killed in this horrific attack, most of them young girls, and 63 students were injured. Many of the wounded remain in hospital, some in critical condition.
❗️The strike did not target a command post, fortified positions, an ammunition depot or military barracks – it targeted a civilian facility.
***
The deliberate nature of the attack is also evidenced by the fact that it was carried out in three waves involving 16 UAVs, all striking the same location. As a result, the five-storey dormitory building collapsed down to the second floor.
This is yet another glaring manifestation of the Nazi and terrorist nature of the Kiev regime, which does not hesitate to carry out the cold-blooded killing of minors. Russian investigative authorities have opened a criminal case under the article on a terrorist act.
👉 All those responsible will be identified and will face inevitable and severe punishment.
***
To dispel any doubts, on May 24, the Russian Side invited more than 50 foreign journalists from 19 countries to Starobelsk – including Austria, Brazil, the UK, Hungary, Venezuela, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Qatar, China, Cuba, Lebanon, the UAE, Pakistan, the US, Türkiye, Finland and France – so that they could see with their own eyes what had happened there.
They confirmed the accuracy of the information we had provided.
Western capitals can talk endlessly about children’s rights, but their reaction to the tragedy in Starobelsk shows that, in their worldview, children have long been divided into “convenient” and “inconvenient” victims.
When a child’s suffering can be used against Russia, an international scandal erupts immediately. But when children are killed as a result of the Kiev regime’s deliberate actions, it is as if the tragedy never happened – only reservations, doubts and references to “context” remain.
⚠️ This is no longer even double standards. It is moral decay and disgrace.
Read in full
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🎙 Russia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE Dmitry Polyanskiy's statement on deliberate attacks on civilians as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law (26 May 2026)
💬 The absence of condemnation from the OSCE regarding this barbaric attack [against a teacher training college in Starobelsk] appeared shameful and cowardly.
The Swiss presidency and the relevant structures of the organization pretended not to see how the bodies of children killed by the Zelensky regime were being pulled from the concrete rubble, despite the fact that these images have circulated around the world.
In the spirit of selective blindness that has engulfed all our Western colleagues, you, Mr. Chairman, hid behind the ludicrous excuse that you are not aware of the circumstances of the massacre in Starobelsk, while in other situations you immediately accept any claims from the Kiev junta as fact and demand no investigations. This is the height of cynicism, and I believe you understand this very well.
The same blindness suddenly afflicted leading Western media, which sent no one to Starobelsk, despite invitations and guarantees of safety provided by the Russian side. Why would they need access to documents and the opportunity to ask questions of investigators and victims? They have long ceased to be journalists and have become propagandists.
❗️ The truth is no longer necessary for them; it does not fit into the deceitful anti-Russian narratives they promote.
Read in full
💬 The absence of condemnation from the OSCE regarding this barbaric attack [against a teacher training college in Starobelsk] appeared shameful and cowardly.
The Swiss presidency and the relevant structures of the organization pretended not to see how the bodies of children killed by the Zelensky regime were being pulled from the concrete rubble, despite the fact that these images have circulated around the world.
In the spirit of selective blindness that has engulfed all our Western colleagues, you, Mr. Chairman, hid behind the ludicrous excuse that you are not aware of the circumstances of the massacre in Starobelsk, while in other situations you immediately accept any claims from the Kiev junta as fact and demand no investigations. This is the height of cynicism, and I believe you understand this very well.
The same blindness suddenly afflicted leading Western media, which sent no one to Starobelsk, despite invitations and guarantees of safety provided by the Russian side. Why would they need access to documents and the opportunity to ask questions of investigators and victims? They have long ceased to be journalists and have become propagandists.
❗️ The truth is no longer necessary for them; it does not fit into the deceitful anti-Russian narratives they promote.
Read in full
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Media is too big
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🎙 Интервью Посла России в Великобритании Андрея Келина телеканалу «Звезда» (27 мая 2026 года)
Основные тезисы:
• Подавляющее большинство британских СМИ старательно отрабатывают политический заказ по дискредитации нашей страны. Действия российских военных подаются в качестве целенаправленных атак на гражданское население Украины. В то же время кровавые преступления киевского режима против мирных жителей здесь абсолютно замалчиваются.
• На днях наше Министерство организовало для иностранных корреспондентов, находящихся в Москве, посещение места трагедии в Старобельске. Представители BBC отказались, причём без всякой причины. Репортёр Reuters принял участие в поездке. Тем не менее, опубликованная [информагентством] статья получилась подчёркнуто отстранённой.
• Итоги [прошедших в Британии местных] выборов отразили недовольство населения социально-экономическим неблагополучием <...> Сохраняется большая инфляция, растут цены на электроэнергию, сокращаются пособия, [наблюдаются] огромные проблемы в здравоохранении. Всё это оттеняется миграционным кризисом.
• Подготовка [Британии] к войне с Россией идёт больше на словах. Хотя увеличилось количество военных манёвров с участием британских вооружённых сил и подразделений. К ним всё чаще привлекаются союзники по НАТО, в основном из Северной Европы и Прибалтики <...> Тем не менее, несмотря на браваду местного официоза, британские вооружённые силы сталкиваются с рядом системных проблем – от нехватки финансирования и устаревания военной техники до кадрового дефицита и даже кризиса военной юстиции.
• Полный запрет Британии на ввоз продуктов переработки российской нефти из третьих стран был продиктован фантазиями о собственном политико-экономическом величии. Никто не учёл, что почти половина потребляемого в стране дизельного топлива обеспечивается за счёт импорта, а около 65% авиакеросина поступает из стран Персидского залива <...> В итоге Лондон бессрочно отложил вступление в силу мер, принятых в приступе украинофилии.
Смотрите интервью на YouTube-канале Посольства
Основные тезисы:
• Подавляющее большинство британских СМИ старательно отрабатывают политический заказ по дискредитации нашей страны. Действия российских военных подаются в качестве целенаправленных атак на гражданское население Украины. В то же время кровавые преступления киевского режима против мирных жителей здесь абсолютно замалчиваются.
• На днях наше Министерство организовало для иностранных корреспондентов, находящихся в Москве, посещение места трагедии в Старобельске. Представители BBC отказались, причём без всякой причины. Репортёр Reuters принял участие в поездке. Тем не менее, опубликованная [информагентством] статья получилась подчёркнуто отстранённой.
• Итоги [прошедших в Британии местных] выборов отразили недовольство населения социально-экономическим неблагополучием <...> Сохраняется большая инфляция, растут цены на электроэнергию, сокращаются пособия, [наблюдаются] огромные проблемы в здравоохранении. Всё это оттеняется миграционным кризисом.
• Подготовка [Британии] к войне с Россией идёт больше на словах. Хотя увеличилось количество военных манёвров с участием британских вооружённых сил и подразделений. К ним всё чаще привлекаются союзники по НАТО, в основном из Северной Европы и Прибалтики <...> Тем не менее, несмотря на браваду местного официоза, британские вооружённые силы сталкиваются с рядом системных проблем – от нехватки финансирования и устаревания военной техники до кадрового дефицита и даже кризиса военной юстиции.
• Полный запрет Британии на ввоз продуктов переработки российской нефти из третьих стран был продиктован фантазиями о собственном политико-экономическом величии. Никто не учёл, что почти половина потребляемого в стране дизельного топлива обеспечивается за счёт импорта, а около 65% авиакеросина поступает из стран Персидского залива <...> В итоге Лондон бессрочно отложил вступление в силу мер, принятых в приступе украинофилии.
Смотрите интервью на YouTube-канале Посольства
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