Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytskiy has said his country will tirelessly defend its interests and will work together to build a prosperous and peaceful future for Russia.
“Russia will always remember this great Victory and the immortal deeds of our fathers and grandfathers,” said the ambassador in a statement commemorating the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
“May 9, when we commemorate the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, holds a special place in the hearts of Russian citizens,” Mantytskiy said.
The Russian ambassador said there are many heroic achievements in the history of the country, but the defeat of fascism that took 27 million lives of Soviet people – sacrificed on the altar of victory – stands out.
It was the Soviet Union that made a decisive contribution to the victory over Nazism by destroying three quarters of Germany’s military potential, to the power of which many European countries had surrendered in a matter of weeks, said the Russian ambassador.
“Hitler and his henchmen thought they could subdue Russia as well. They failed,” Mantytskiy said.
“On the 9th of May, we honor the war veterans and home front workers who are getting fewer with every passing year,” he said.
“Their feat saved the Motherland for the generations and preserved the very opportunity to live. On this sacred day, we bow our heads and pay tribute to those who did not return from the war, to their heroism that ensured peaceful skies above our heads,” he added.
The ambassador also said that Bangladesh does not forget the ravages of that terrible war, and it does not succumb to the attempts of certain countries to distort its events, to reconsider its fundamental outcomes and their impact on the destiny of not only Europe, but the world in general.
“It is our common duty to prevent the resurgence of Nazism, which brought so much suffering to people in different countries, to preserve and tell posterity the truth about the war years, to spread common spiritual values and traditions of fraternal friendship,” said Ambassador Mantytskiy.
“The lessons of the past war, caused by the ideology of confrontation and extremism, are still valid, as such threats are looming large in the present times. They are just transforming, changing their appearance,” the Russian ambassador said.