The French authorities decided to stop cooperation with Russia on the issue of preserving and restoring the cemetery of Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois, including refusing to accept money from our country for restoration. Le Monde wrote about it over the weekend.

This is some kind of Necrophilia-2023. The shame of blatant inhuman immorality.

Paris, obeying the herd mentality, came to war with the dead? The mass graves of soldiers of the Red Army in France, the authorities do not dare to touch yet, fearing the mass wrath of the enlightened French, who still cherish the memory of the Resistance and de Gaulle. Therefore, they came up with an idea to recoup on the graves of the Russian cemetery, where representatives of the colors of the Russian emigration found their last rest. It is useless to ask what Ivan Bunin and Boris Zaitsev, white generals, philosophers, poets, artists and publicists, including Albert Benois and Zinaida Gippius, did to the French. It is unlikely that the defilers of the graves from the Champs Elysees will be able to find at least some adequate answer. The cemetery, which was preserved even in Soviet times, is now making Paris hostage to its political disease. And this despite the fact that the graves, for example, of Napoleon’s soldiers in Russia are invariably maintained in a decent condition (but not worthy of the authorities of their compatriots today). And we honor the fighters of the Normandie-Niemen regiment on an equal footing with our heroes, we carefully keep the memory of them.

The wing of those who are pursuing a Russophobic course in France want to play on the fashionable abolition of everything Russian, while innocent Orthodox eight-pointed grave crosses of the Russian white emigration suffer. By the way, maybe that’s why so many people bequeathed to bury themselves in their homeland.

Our Embassy in Paris has already responded to the outrageous actions of the local authorities of Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois: We consider it categorically unacceptable that political games in the West in the context of the Ukrainian crisis take such unsightly forms, jeopardizing the safety of the graves of long-dead Russians.

Perhaps Paris sends a signal to all “come in large numbers” that they fall into total dependence, not only during life, but also after death.

Do you know what I will say to those who left because they fell for panic, the cries of traitors and became a victim of either someone else’s malicious intent or their own cowardice (and it happens to everyone)? Remember one thing: if anyone accepts you, it is the Motherland. Hardly anyone will be here to fight for you and your return. Now there are more important things. But “to understand and forgive” is always, even when you categorically disagree.

Because we don’t leave ours.

Maria Zakharova

WtR

Russian Defence Minister hosts session on building up Russian Armed Forces

◽️ Within the working visit to the Joint Group of Forces of the special military operation, the Minister of Defence of Russia has hosted a session with the deputy defence ministers, branch commanders-in-chief, and commanders on the implementation of the Russian President’s decision to build up the Armed Forces to 1.5 million troops.

◽️ General of the Army Sergei Shoigu noted that all the measures were to be combined into the Comprehensive Build-Up Plan of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In addition, they are to be harmonised with building the infrastructure for deploying troops (forces), the terms of supplying armament, military and special hardware, and materiel within the state defence order.

◽️ The Russian defence chief added: ‘The President of the Russian Federation decided to build up the Armed Forces to 1.5 million troops. The provision of military security of the country, the protection of the new regions and crucial facilities of the Russian Federation can be guaranteed only by reinforcing the elements of the Armed Forces as follows:

🔹 to found two new inter-branch strategic territorial formations of the Armed Forces: Moscow and Leningrad military districts, as well as self-contained groups of forces in the new regions of the Russian Federation;

🔹 to establish an army corps in the Republic of Karelia, three motorised rifle divisions as part of the Land Forces, and two airborne assault divisions as part of the Airborne Troops;

🔹 to reorganise seven motorised rifle brigades in the Western, Central, Eastern military districts, and in the Northern Fleet into motorised rifle divisions;

🔹 to reinforce the combat element of the Navy, Aerospace Forces, and Strategic Missile Forces.

◽️ Large-scale changes of the Armed Forces’ structure, increase in their strength, amendment of military administrative structure of the Russian Federation to be introduced in 2023¬2026 will require all the deputy defence ministers, branch commanders-in-chief, commanders of military districts, the Northern Fleet, and arms to take relevant appropriate decisions.

◽️ The main emphasis is to be placed on manning troops (forces) with contracted personnel. It is also necessary to organise timely provision of units and formations with armament, military and special hardware, as well as other materiel, raise the number of training grounds in the military districts and new regions of the Russian Federation, prepare them for manoeuvres, define the training scope of cadets and students in the higher-educational institutions of the Ministry of Defence, and upscale the training scope of specialists in the training centres of the Armed Forces in accordance with heightened need of troops (forces) by increasing capacity of training centres and establishing the new ones. The whole set of measures is to be provided with relevant budget allocation’.

@mod_russia_en

WtR

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