Ambassador's statement

Today marks exactly 10 years since the monstrous crime committed by the Ukrainian Nazis in Odessa. 

On May 2, 2014, supporters of the so called 'Maidan revolution' dealt with those who did not back up the bloody unconstitutional armed coup in Kiev and did not agree with the coming to power of national radicals.

Since the spring of 2014, Odessa residents have organized a tent camp in the square near the House of Trade Unions, where they held peaceful actions in support of federalization of Ukraine, the protection of the Russian language and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the region. People protested against discriminatory policy of total Ukrainization, installing the ideology of aggressive nationalism, cultivating neo-Nazi ideas.

Freedom-loving Russian-speaking Odessa was a bone in the throat of the regime, which at all costs wanted to bring the inhabitants of the city it hated to their knees. Nationalists prepared provocations in advance. On May 2, they attacked a peaceful march of supporters of federalization in the city center, who tried to hide from the brutal Nazis in the House of Trade Unions. The building was set on fire by radicals. As a result, only according to official data, at least 48 people were burned alive, poisoned by carbon monoxide or died as a result of falling from the upper floors. Many of them had gunshot wounds. Among the dead were children. Dozens of people were injured.

The investigation of the May 2, 2014 case, initiated by Kiev regime under pressure from international organizations, turned into a farce. No one was punished.

Today, as we pay tribute to the victims of the Odessa massacre, we are convinced that a just retribution will sooner or later overtake the perpetrators and masterminds of this barbaric crime, which has no statute of limitations. Everyone who is guilty will face the tribunal.

We are confident that the day is not far off when Odessa will once again become a truly free city, where people of different nationalities will live in peace and harmony.