Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at an expanded-format meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers (April 17, 2026, Moscow)
💬 We are pleased to welcome you to Moscow for another meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers.
As the representative of the host country, I would like to thank all of you for our joint work to strengthen the Commonwealth’s potential.
I would also like to express special appreciation for your active participation in the events held in 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Today, we discussed the need to continue our joint work to preserve and strengthen the memory of the heroes of that war, of the generations who represented the peoples of the Soviet Union and became the generation of Victors.
📕 On the tables before you are documentary collections titled The Republics to the Front, 1941-1945, devoted to the contribution of each Republic of the former Soviet Union to Victory. This publication reflects new facts attesting to the crucial role of the home front in the defeat of Nazism.
This fundamental work, without exaggeration, was prepared by a team of highly qualified experts and historians from Russia and other Commonwealth states with the support of the staff of our countries’ security councils.
There is no doubt that our common efforts within the CIS to preserve the memory of our ancestors' feat – let me stress this once again – are especially in demand today.
#Victoy81
💬 We are pleased to welcome you to Moscow for another meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers.
As the representative of the host country, I would like to thank all of you for our joint work to strengthen the Commonwealth’s potential.
I would also like to express special appreciation for your active participation in the events held in 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Today, we discussed the need to continue our joint work to preserve and strengthen the memory of the heroes of that war, of the generations who represented the peoples of the Soviet Union and became the generation of Victors.
📕 On the tables before you are documentary collections titled The Republics to the Front, 1941-1945, devoted to the contribution of each Republic of the former Soviet Union to Victory. This publication reflects new facts attesting to the crucial role of the home front in the defeat of Nazism.
This fundamental work, without exaggeration, was prepared by a team of highly qualified experts and historians from Russia and other Commonwealth states with the support of the staff of our countries’ security councils.
There is no doubt that our common efforts within the CIS to preserve the memory of our ancestors' feat – let me stress this once again – are especially in demand today.
#Victoy81
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🎙 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at a joint press conference with CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev following the meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers (April 17, 2026, Moscow)
💬 Sergey Lavrov: Today's meeting was held in the traditionally warm and friendly atmosphere. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues for a substantive, frank and focused exchange of views.
We noted with satisfaction that the Plan of Inter-MFA Consultations within the CIS was successfully implemented in 2025. This remains a traditional instrument for coordinating our foreign policy activities. This work will continue in 2026 as well.
We discussed current international issues. Naturally, particular attention was paid to various aspects of the unprecedented escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf, triggered by the military aggression of the US and Israel against Iran. The seven CIS foreign Ministers adopted a special statement on this matter, which will be circulated.
It was noted that the crisis created in the Persian Gulf, which has, de facto, engulfed the entire Middle East, is fundamentally reshaping broader trends across the Eurasian continent, including with regard to approaches to ensuring the security of countries in various Eurasian subregions and, of course, to the reliability and security of routes for the delivery of energy supplies, food and fertilisers.
All of this will have to be rethought as we continue to develop our common concept for advancing the Greater Eurasian Partnership with the participation of the #CIS, the #SCO, #ASEAN and other integration associations.
In the context of shaping our shared approach, together with our Belarusian friends we have begun promoting this idea – a concept for building a security architecture across the Eurasian continent. It is clear that many countries across Eurasia are now reassessing and rethinking the arrangements on which their economic interests, development prospects and security interests have long rested.
I would like highlight the task of stepping up efforts to consolidate our work in the interests of the sustainable development of all CIS countries, safeguarding their interests, their security interests and, more broadly, their foreign policy interests on the international stage.
☝️ We also agreed – and I consider this especially important – to continue working to preserve the historical truth about the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War, and to devote special attention to educating young people in the CIS countries in a spirit of respect for the great collective feat accomplished by all the peoples of the USSR.
Read full
💬 Sergey Lavrov: Today's meeting was held in the traditionally warm and friendly atmosphere. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues for a substantive, frank and focused exchange of views.
We noted with satisfaction that the Plan of Inter-MFA Consultations within the CIS was successfully implemented in 2025. This remains a traditional instrument for coordinating our foreign policy activities. This work will continue in 2026 as well.
We discussed current international issues. Naturally, particular attention was paid to various aspects of the unprecedented escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf, triggered by the military aggression of the US and Israel against Iran. The seven CIS foreign Ministers adopted a special statement on this matter, which will be circulated.
It was noted that the crisis created in the Persian Gulf, which has, de facto, engulfed the entire Middle East, is fundamentally reshaping broader trends across the Eurasian continent, including with regard to approaches to ensuring the security of countries in various Eurasian subregions and, of course, to the reliability and security of routes for the delivery of energy supplies, food and fertilisers.
All of this will have to be rethought as we continue to develop our common concept for advancing the Greater Eurasian Partnership with the participation of the #CIS, the #SCO, #ASEAN and other integration associations.
In the context of shaping our shared approach, together with our Belarusian friends we have begun promoting this idea – a concept for building a security architecture across the Eurasian continent. It is clear that many countries across Eurasia are now reassessing and rethinking the arrangements on which their economic interests, development prospects and security interests have long rested.
I would like highlight the task of stepping up efforts to consolidate our work in the interests of the sustainable development of all CIS countries, safeguarding their interests, their security interests and, more broadly, their foreign policy interests on the international stage.
☝️ We also agreed – and I consider this especially important – to continue working to preserve the historical truth about the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War, and to devote special attention to educating young people in the CIS countries in a spirit of respect for the great collective feat accomplished by all the peoples of the USSR.
Read full
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🗓 On April 17, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers in Moscow.
A broad range of issues related to integration within the Commonwealth, as well as current international matters, was discussed. Plans were outlined to further strengthen foreign policy coordination.
👉 Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at an expanded-format meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers
👉 Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a joint news conference following CIS Ministerial
FM Sergey Lavrov presented Russia’s approaches on a number of major international and regional issues, including the continuing tensions in the Middle East and the crisis around Ukraine.
✅ The Ministers adopted statements on the situation in the Persian Gulf and on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. They also agreed on decisions to declare 2028 the Year of Social Development and Quality of Life in the CIS and regarding the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS, which marks its 20th anniversary this year.
The participants reviewed the implementation in 2025 of the Plan of Multi-Level Inter-Ministry Consultations within the Commonwealth and the Programme of Action to Intensify Partnership among the Foreign Ministries of the CIS Member States.
A number of the approved documents will be submitted for consideration by the CIS Council of Heads of State and the CIS Council of Heads of Government.
🇹🇲 The next meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers will be held in Turkmenistan on October 7, on the eve of the Summit of the Commonwealth Heads of State.
A broad range of issues related to integration within the Commonwealth, as well as current international matters, was discussed. Plans were outlined to further strengthen foreign policy coordination.
👉 Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at an expanded-format meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers
👉 Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a joint news conference following CIS Ministerial
FM Sergey Lavrov presented Russia’s approaches on a number of major international and regional issues, including the continuing tensions in the Middle East and the crisis around Ukraine.
✅ The Ministers adopted statements on the situation in the Persian Gulf and on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. They also agreed on decisions to declare 2028 the Year of Social Development and Quality of Life in the CIS and regarding the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS, which marks its 20th anniversary this year.
The participants reviewed the implementation in 2025 of the Plan of Multi-Level Inter-Ministry Consultations within the Commonwealth and the Programme of Action to Intensify Partnership among the Foreign Ministries of the CIS Member States.
A number of the approved documents will be submitted for consideration by the CIS Council of Heads of State and the CIS Council of Heads of Government.
🇹🇲 The next meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers will be held in Turkmenistan on October 7, on the eve of the Summit of the Commonwealth Heads of State.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#Victory81
🌟 On April 17, 1944, the Battle for Right-Bank Soviet Ukraine concluded – also known as the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive – one of the largest and longest campaigns of the Great Patriotic War.
It lasted from December 24, 1943, to April 17, 1944. Vast forces were committed on both sides during the operation – around 4 million people in total. The troops of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, commanded by Nikolay Vatutin, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky and Fyodor Tolbukhin, faced two German army groups – Army Group South and Army Group A.
☝️ This was the only operation of the Great Patriotic War in which all six Soviet tank armies were advancing simultaneously.
After the liberation of Kiev, the Nazis sought to hold on to Right-Bank Ukraine at any cost. This area was of crucial military and strategic importance to the Germans: losing it opened the way for the Red Army to the Carpathians, Moldova, Romania and onward to the Balkans.
The enemy had concentrated over 1.7 million soldiers and officers, 16,800 guns and mortars, 2,200 tanks and assault guns, and around 1,500 aircraft on Right-Bank Ukraine.
The Soviet High Command committed 2.3 million troops, 28,800 guns and mortars, over 2,000 tanks and self-propelled artillery systems, and 2,300 aircraft.
***
The first offensive against the enemy was launched in late December 1943, when units of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke through German defences and liberated Korosten, Brusilov, Kazatin, Skvira and other towns and villages.
On January 5, 1944, the 2nd Ukrainian Front went over to the offensive and by mid-January had liberated Kirovograd. In early February 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, Soviet troops encircled a large German grouping. All attempts to break out and relieve it were thwarted, and by February 17-18 the pocket had been eliminated.
In the first half of February 1944, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated Lutsk, Rovno and Shepetovka. At the same time, the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts smashed several major enemy groupings, liberating Apostolovo, Nikopol and Krivoy Rog.
After Nikolay Vatutin was seriously wounded in a clash with Banderites, Georgy Zhukov took command of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On March 4, 1944, his troops resumed the offensive, liberated a number of cities and cut the key railway lines Ternopol-Proskurov and Lvov-Odessa.
In April 1944, the Red Army fully liberated the Nikolayev and Odessa regions, as well as a significant part of Moldova.
The 4th Ukrainian Front then commenced the operation to liberate Crimea.
***
⚔️ The results of the Dnieper-Carpathian Operation were of exceptional military and strategic importance. Soviet troops advanced 250-450 kilometres deep into enemy-held territory and routed the southern wing of the German strategic front.
The enemy suffered devastating losses: 10 divisions and 1 brigade were completely destroyed, while another 59 divisions, including 12 tank and 3 motorised divisions, lost between half and three-quarters of their personnel.
Most of Right-Bank Ukraine was liberated: Khmelnytsky, Vinnitsa, Ternopol and Chernovtsy regions, parts of the Rovno and Ivano-Frankovsk regions. 57 major cities were freed from Nazi occupation.
The Red Army’s advance to the borders of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania became a major factor in the rise of the national liberation movements in those countries. The Nazis were later driven out of those territories through joint efforts, with Soviet troops playing the decisive role.
The liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine ended the years of terror imposed by the Nazis and their loyal OUN-UPA nationalist accomplices.
🕯 According to various estimates, atrocities of the Nazi occupiers and nationalist punitive units on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR claimed the lives of around 4.5 million civilians. We honour their memory, as well as that of millions of other victims of the Soviet people murdered at the hands of Hitler’s executioners, on April 19 – the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People.
#WeRemember
It lasted from December 24, 1943, to April 17, 1944. Vast forces were committed on both sides during the operation – around 4 million people in total. The troops of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, commanded by Nikolay Vatutin, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky and Fyodor Tolbukhin, faced two German army groups – Army Group South and Army Group A.
☝️ This was the only operation of the Great Patriotic War in which all six Soviet tank armies were advancing simultaneously.
After the liberation of Kiev, the Nazis sought to hold on to Right-Bank Ukraine at any cost. This area was of crucial military and strategic importance to the Germans: losing it opened the way for the Red Army to the Carpathians, Moldova, Romania and onward to the Balkans.
The enemy had concentrated over 1.7 million soldiers and officers, 16,800 guns and mortars, 2,200 tanks and assault guns, and around 1,500 aircraft on Right-Bank Ukraine.
The Soviet High Command committed 2.3 million troops, 28,800 guns and mortars, over 2,000 tanks and self-propelled artillery systems, and 2,300 aircraft.
***
The first offensive against the enemy was launched in late December 1943, when units of the 1st Ukrainian Front broke through German defences and liberated Korosten, Brusilov, Kazatin, Skvira and other towns and villages.
On January 5, 1944, the 2nd Ukrainian Front went over to the offensive and by mid-January had liberated Kirovograd. In early February 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, Soviet troops encircled a large German grouping. All attempts to break out and relieve it were thwarted, and by February 17-18 the pocket had been eliminated.
In the first half of February 1944, troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated Lutsk, Rovno and Shepetovka. At the same time, the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts smashed several major enemy groupings, liberating Apostolovo, Nikopol and Krivoy Rog.
After Nikolay Vatutin was seriously wounded in a clash with Banderites, Georgy Zhukov took command of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On March 4, 1944, his troops resumed the offensive, liberated a number of cities and cut the key railway lines Ternopol-Proskurov and Lvov-Odessa.
In April 1944, the Red Army fully liberated the Nikolayev and Odessa regions, as well as a significant part of Moldova.
The 4th Ukrainian Front then commenced the operation to liberate Crimea.
***
⚔️ The results of the Dnieper-Carpathian Operation were of exceptional military and strategic importance. Soviet troops advanced 250-450 kilometres deep into enemy-held territory and routed the southern wing of the German strategic front.
The enemy suffered devastating losses: 10 divisions and 1 brigade were completely destroyed, while another 59 divisions, including 12 tank and 3 motorised divisions, lost between half and three-quarters of their personnel.
Most of Right-Bank Ukraine was liberated: Khmelnytsky, Vinnitsa, Ternopol and Chernovtsy regions, parts of the Rovno and Ivano-Frankovsk regions. 57 major cities were freed from Nazi occupation.
The Red Army’s advance to the borders of Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania became a major factor in the rise of the national liberation movements in those countries. The Nazis were later driven out of those territories through joint efforts, with Soviet troops playing the decisive role.
The liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine ended the years of terror imposed by the Nazis and their loyal OUN-UPA nationalist accomplices.
🕯 According to various estimates, atrocities of the Nazi occupiers and nationalist punitive units on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR claimed the lives of around 4.5 million civilians. We honour their memory, as well as that of millions of other victims of the Soviet people murdered at the hands of Hitler’s executioners, on April 19 – the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People.
#WeRemember
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🎙 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's statement on the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (April 17, 2026)
💬 On April 18, 1946, the International Court of Justice – the principal judicial organ of the UN and the highest body of international justice – held its first public hearing.
It was established by the UN Charter to fulfil the key task of ensuring that international disputes are resolved by peaceful means. Operating on the strict principle of voluntary consent to jurisdiction, for 80 years the Court has ruled on landmark cases, profoundly shaping our understanding of international law.
Our country has a long history of cooperation with the International Court of Justice. On August 20, 1945, the Soviet Union was among the first states to ratify the Court’s Statute, alongside the UN Charter.
☝️ Unfortunately, the Court has recently become the arena of a “legal war”.
Its jurisdiction is being blatantly abused to bring patently absurd claims against Russia. Other countries in the #MultipolarWorld, including our closest allies, have also come under attack.
In an effort to force the Court into making anti-Russia rulings, Western countries are interfering en masse in proceedings. In the Russian-Ukrainian case under the Genocide Convention, 33 states have declared their accession, ostensibly as neutral “third parties”, but in reality, on Kiev’s side. This practice is flawed and has even forced the Court to change its own rules.
👉 Attempts to pressure the Court have failed.
False accusations against the Russian Federation of alleged “state terrorism”, “financing terrorism,” “racial discrimination”, and violation of the Genocide Convention have been rejected by the Court.
On the contrary, the Court explicitly recognised that the DPR and LPR were not “terrorist organisations” thereby delegitimizing Kiev’s so-called “anti-terrorist operation” against the people of Donbass. In the Genocide Convention case, Ukraine itself ended up in the dock for the genocide committed in Donbass by the Kiev regime and its Nazi henchmen.
***
It is in the interests of all states to have an independent, fair, and impartial body for resolving international disputes.
We hope that the International Court of Justice will maintain its objectivity, withstand the pressure being placed upon it, and remain an effective mechanism for resolving disagreements – unlike the politicised organisations that have been consigned to the dustbin of history. Fair justice, equal for all, is an essential component of long-term, lasting peace and stability on our planet.
Read in full
💬 On April 18, 1946, the International Court of Justice – the principal judicial organ of the UN and the highest body of international justice – held its first public hearing.
It was established by the UN Charter to fulfil the key task of ensuring that international disputes are resolved by peaceful means. Operating on the strict principle of voluntary consent to jurisdiction, for 80 years the Court has ruled on landmark cases, profoundly shaping our understanding of international law.
Our country has a long history of cooperation with the International Court of Justice. On August 20, 1945, the Soviet Union was among the first states to ratify the Court’s Statute, alongside the UN Charter.
☝️ Unfortunately, the Court has recently become the arena of a “legal war”.
Its jurisdiction is being blatantly abused to bring patently absurd claims against Russia. Other countries in the #MultipolarWorld, including our closest allies, have also come under attack.
In an effort to force the Court into making anti-Russia rulings, Western countries are interfering en masse in proceedings. In the Russian-Ukrainian case under the Genocide Convention, 33 states have declared their accession, ostensibly as neutral “third parties”, but in reality, on Kiev’s side. This practice is flawed and has even forced the Court to change its own rules.
👉 Attempts to pressure the Court have failed.
False accusations against the Russian Federation of alleged “state terrorism”, “financing terrorism,” “racial discrimination”, and violation of the Genocide Convention have been rejected by the Court.
On the contrary, the Court explicitly recognised that the DPR and LPR were not “terrorist organisations” thereby delegitimizing Kiev’s so-called “anti-terrorist operation” against the people of Donbass. In the Genocide Convention case, Ukraine itself ended up in the dock for the genocide committed in Donbass by the Kiev regime and its Nazi henchmen.
***
It is in the interests of all states to have an independent, fair, and impartial body for resolving international disputes.
We hope that the International Court of Justice will maintain its objectivity, withstand the pressure being placed upon it, and remain an effective mechanism for resolving disagreements – unlike the politicised organisations that have been consigned to the dustbin of history. Fair justice, equal for all, is an essential component of long-term, lasting peace and stability on our planet.
Read in full
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙️ Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the developments in Lebanon (April 17, 2026)
💬 On April 16, a ten-day cessation of hostilities was announced in the Lebanese Republic.
We welcome the ceasefire agreement, which has helped bring an end to the bloodshed. We hope it will be strictly observed, creating conditions for sustainable de-escalation in Lebanon and improving the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation there.
From the very beginning of the large-scale escalation in the Middle East, which further aggravated the already difficult situation in Lebanon, we have consistently called for an end to armed confrontation and a transition to a political and diplomatic settlement.
In this context, we view the direct contact between representatives of Lebanon and Israel on April 14, held for the first time in 33 years, as a step in the right direction.
☝️ Russia unequivocally and unconditionally supports the parties’ desire for peace, provided it is genuine and sustained.
We hope that Tel Aviv and Beirut will be able to find common ground and move toward improving bilateral relations.
We believe that a complete renunciation of the use of force and a return to political and diplomatic efforts to ensure the comprehensive implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 can pave the way for sustainable, long-term normalisation in the Lebanese Republic.
💬 On April 16, a ten-day cessation of hostilities was announced in the Lebanese Republic.
We welcome the ceasefire agreement, which has helped bring an end to the bloodshed. We hope it will be strictly observed, creating conditions for sustainable de-escalation in Lebanon and improving the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation there.
From the very beginning of the large-scale escalation in the Middle East, which further aggravated the already difficult situation in Lebanon, we have consistently called for an end to armed confrontation and a transition to a political and diplomatic settlement.
In this context, we view the direct contact between representatives of Lebanon and Israel on April 14, held for the first time in 33 years, as a step in the right direction.
☝️ Russia unequivocally and unconditionally supports the parties’ desire for peace, provided it is genuine and sustained.
We hope that Tel Aviv and Beirut will be able to find common ground and move toward improving bilateral relations.
We believe that a complete renunciation of the use of force and a return to political and diplomatic efforts to ensure the comprehensive implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 can pave the way for sustainable, long-term normalisation in the Lebanese Republic.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🇷🇺🇹🇷 On April 18, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye Hakan Fidan, took part in the Fifth Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
During a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the event with Hakan Fidan, the two Ministers thoroughly discussed key aspects of the international and regional agenda, including the situation in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.
The mutual commitment of Russia and Türkiye to further constructive cooperation aimed at finding effective solutions for resolving crisis situations was reaffirmed.
An exchange of views was held on current political issues of the Russian-Turkish dialogue, and the main objectives of trade, economic, and energy cooperation were discussed.
The schedule of upcoming contacts was outlined.
#RussiaTürkiye
During a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the event with Hakan Fidan, the two Ministers thoroughly discussed key aspects of the international and regional agenda, including the situation in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.
The mutual commitment of Russia and Türkiye to further constructive cooperation aimed at finding effective solutions for resolving crisis situations was reaffirmed.
An exchange of views was held on current political issues of the Russian-Turkish dialogue, and the main objectives of trade, economic, and energy cooperation were discussed.
The schedule of upcoming contacts was outlined.
#RussiaTürkiye
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🎙 Video address by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the occasion of Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People committed by Nazis and their accomplices during 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War (Moscow, April 19, 2026)
💬 Friends,
This year will be the first time that we mark a mournful date, namely, Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People committed by Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. This new commemorative day - April 19 - was established in December 2025. Events in memory of the victims of Nazis and the immortal feat of the Soviet people will take place at Russian missions abroad as well.
April 19 was chosen for a reason. On that day in 1943, Decree No. 39 of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet “On measures of punishment for German Nazi perpetrators guilty of killings and torture of Soviet civilian population and captured Red Army soldiers, for spies, traitors to the Motherland from among Soviet citizens, and for their accomplices” was issued.
The decree became the first document to provide a legal qualification of the systematic policy pursued by the Nazis and collaborationists to exterminate the civilian population, and laid the groundwork for bringing them to justice. Among the first trials subsequently organised against German war criminals were the Krasnodar and Kharkov trials. Their outcomes significantly influenced the work of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal.
The evidence presented in the materials of the Nuremberg Tribunal and their legal assessments made it possible to speak of genocide of peoples in the territories occupied by Germany, primarily the territory of the USSR. The enemy was open about it waging a war of extermination against our Fatherland. As early as September 16, 1941, by order of the Chief of Staff of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, General Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, German troops were instructed to show no mercy to civilians. The atrocities reached an unprecedented scale.
▪️ The total number of civilian victims in the USSR during the occupation amounted to around 14 million people.
These crimes have no statute of limitations.
The outcomes of the Nuremberg Tribunal laid the foundation for drafting the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The very term “genocide” gained currency in 1944 to define a policy of obliteration of national, racial, and religious groups.
The facts of genocide in the occupied territories of the former USSR have been confirmed in court in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation where, during the Great Patriotic War, crimes against the civilian population were committed by German Nazis and their accomplices from among those in other countries who stood under Nazi banners. Russian diplomacy will seek recognition by the international community of the crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices against citizens of the Soviet Union as genocide of the Soviet people. The qualification to this end has been enshrined in a number of documents adopted within the CIS and the CSTO.
In Russia, rehabilitation of Nazism, including actions that desecrate the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide, has been criminalised.
We will continue to resolutely defend historical truth and counter attempts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their acolytes, and to revise the internationally recognised outcomes of the Second World War. The majority of states stand in solidarity with us. There is clear broad support for Russian thematic initiatives, primarily at the UN, where Russian draft resolutions on combatting the glorification of Nazism are adopted annually.
Preserving the memory of millions of victims of the genocide of the Soviet people is our sacred duty.
We will not allow these atrocities to be consigned to oblivion, no matter how hard those who today seek once again to steer Europe down the well-trodden path of racial superiority may try.
💬 Friends,
This year will be the first time that we mark a mournful date, namely, Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People committed by Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. This new commemorative day - April 19 - was established in December 2025. Events in memory of the victims of Nazis and the immortal feat of the Soviet people will take place at Russian missions abroad as well.
April 19 was chosen for a reason. On that day in 1943, Decree No. 39 of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet “On measures of punishment for German Nazi perpetrators guilty of killings and torture of Soviet civilian population and captured Red Army soldiers, for spies, traitors to the Motherland from among Soviet citizens, and for their accomplices” was issued.
The decree became the first document to provide a legal qualification of the systematic policy pursued by the Nazis and collaborationists to exterminate the civilian population, and laid the groundwork for bringing them to justice. Among the first trials subsequently organised against German war criminals were the Krasnodar and Kharkov trials. Their outcomes significantly influenced the work of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal.
The evidence presented in the materials of the Nuremberg Tribunal and their legal assessments made it possible to speak of genocide of peoples in the territories occupied by Germany, primarily the territory of the USSR. The enemy was open about it waging a war of extermination against our Fatherland. As early as September 16, 1941, by order of the Chief of Staff of the High Command of the Wehrmacht, General Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, German troops were instructed to show no mercy to civilians. The atrocities reached an unprecedented scale.
▪️ The total number of civilian victims in the USSR during the occupation amounted to around 14 million people.
These crimes have no statute of limitations.
The outcomes of the Nuremberg Tribunal laid the foundation for drafting the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The very term “genocide” gained currency in 1944 to define a policy of obliteration of national, racial, and religious groups.
The facts of genocide in the occupied territories of the former USSR have been confirmed in court in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation where, during the Great Patriotic War, crimes against the civilian population were committed by German Nazis and their accomplices from among those in other countries who stood under Nazi banners. Russian diplomacy will seek recognition by the international community of the crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices against citizens of the Soviet Union as genocide of the Soviet people. The qualification to this end has been enshrined in a number of documents adopted within the CIS and the CSTO.
In Russia, rehabilitation of Nazism, including actions that desecrate the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide, has been criminalised.
We will continue to resolutely defend historical truth and counter attempts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their acolytes, and to revise the internationally recognised outcomes of the Second World War. The majority of states stand in solidarity with us. There is clear broad support for Russian thematic initiatives, primarily at the UN, where Russian draft resolutions on combatting the glorification of Nazism are adopted annually.
Preserving the memory of millions of victims of the genocide of the Soviet people is our sacred duty.
We will not allow these atrocities to be consigned to oblivion, no matter how hard those who today seek once again to steer Europe down the well-trodden path of racial superiority may try.
April 19 is the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People, declared by the President of the Russian Federation in December 2025.
On December 29, 2025, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, signed a decree establishing April 19 as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People, committed by the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.
In recent years, Russia has also annually observed April 19 as the Day of Unified Actions (#DayOfUnifiedActions), aimed at preserving the memory of those who perished at the hands of Nazi executioners and their accomplices.
📑 Read more about the Day of Unified Actions in the extended material by Rosarkhiv
It was on April 19, 1943, that Decree No. 39 of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued:
“On Measures of Punishment for German-Fascist Villains Guilty of the Killing and Torture of Soviet Civilians and Captured Red Army Soldiers, for Spies, Traitors to the Motherland from among Soviet Citizens, and for Their Accomplices.”👉 This document provided a legal assessment that, for the first time, recognized the fact of a deliberate and large-scale policy pursued by the Nazis and their accomplices aimed at the extermination of the civilian population of our country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in cooperation with the Investigative Committee, other law-enforcement authorities, as well as the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation, is conducting systematic work to consolidate the legal qualification of the crimes of the fascist invaders as GENOCIDE of the peoples of the Soviet Union.
***
The Nazis systematically exterminated the entire population of our country, regardless of ethnic, racial, or religious affiliation. More than 27 million Soviet citizens, including civilians, fell victim to the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War. Among the civilian population of our country alone, according to historians’ estimates, approximately 13.7 million people became victims of the ruthless Nazi policy of extermination.
#FactsOnly
▪️ At least 7.4 million people were deliberately killed (shot, burned, or buried alive) by Nazi executioners.
▪️ Forced labor in concentration camps and inhumane treatment led to the agonizing deaths of another 2.2 million people. More than 1 million children and adolescents were placed in concentration camps.
▪️ In the territories occupied by the enemy, more than 4.1 million people died prematurely due to the overall deterioration of living conditions, disease, and starvation.
▪️ At least 1 million people perished during the Siege of Leningrad — the largest war crime in history.
As part of the “Without Statute of Limitations” online project, and within the broader effort to preserve the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people, documentary and multimedia materials have been prepared, highlighting the numerous crimes committed by Nazi invaders during the occupation of our Motherland and other countries.
• “Routes of Memory” — guidebooks and audio tours to memorial sites available in Russian, English, and German.
• “The Bryansk Buchenwald”— about the Dulag-142 concentration camp, where tens of thousands of our compatriots were killed by the Germans.
• “‘The Forsaken’: Children under Nazi Occupation” — children and adolescents fully experienced the brutality of Nazi occupation, becoming not only victims of extermination policies but also targets of recruitment.
📖 Learn more about these and many other projects on the Without Statute of Limitations portal.
On December 29, 2025, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, signed a decree establishing April 19 as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People, committed by the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.
In recent years, Russia has also annually observed April 19 as the Day of Unified Actions (#DayOfUnifiedActions), aimed at preserving the memory of those who perished at the hands of Nazi executioners and their accomplices.
📑 Read more about the Day of Unified Actions in the extended material by Rosarkhiv
It was on April 19, 1943, that Decree No. 39 of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued:
“On Measures of Punishment for German-Fascist Villains Guilty of the Killing and Torture of Soviet Civilians and Captured Red Army Soldiers, for Spies, Traitors to the Motherland from among Soviet Citizens, and for Their Accomplices.”👉 This document provided a legal assessment that, for the first time, recognized the fact of a deliberate and large-scale policy pursued by the Nazis and their accomplices aimed at the extermination of the civilian population of our country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in cooperation with the Investigative Committee, other law-enforcement authorities, as well as the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation, is conducting systematic work to consolidate the legal qualification of the crimes of the fascist invaders as GENOCIDE of the peoples of the Soviet Union.
***
The Nazis systematically exterminated the entire population of our country, regardless of ethnic, racial, or religious affiliation. More than 27 million Soviet citizens, including civilians, fell victim to the Nazis and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War. Among the civilian population of our country alone, according to historians’ estimates, approximately 13.7 million people became victims of the ruthless Nazi policy of extermination.
#FactsOnly
▪️ At least 7.4 million people were deliberately killed (shot, burned, or buried alive) by Nazi executioners.
▪️ Forced labor in concentration camps and inhumane treatment led to the agonizing deaths of another 2.2 million people. More than 1 million children and adolescents were placed in concentration camps.
▪️ In the territories occupied by the enemy, more than 4.1 million people died prematurely due to the overall deterioration of living conditions, disease, and starvation.
▪️ At least 1 million people perished during the Siege of Leningrad — the largest war crime in history.
As part of the “Without Statute of Limitations” online project, and within the broader effort to preserve the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people, documentary and multimedia materials have been prepared, highlighting the numerous crimes committed by Nazi invaders during the occupation of our Motherland and other countries.
• “Routes of Memory” — guidebooks and audio tours to memorial sites available in Russian, English, and German.
• “The Bryansk Buchenwald”— about the Dulag-142 concentration camp, where tens of thousands of our compatriots were killed by the Germans.
• “‘The Forsaken’: Children under Nazi Occupation” — children and adolescents fully experienced the brutality of Nazi occupation, becoming not only victims of extermination policies but also targets of recruitment.
📖 Learn more about these and many other projects on the Without Statute of Limitations portal.