SEVASTOPOL, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday at the opening of a military and historic conference in Sevastopol that Western countries are trying to ignore the heroic deeds of the Soviet people in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War.
“Today we gathered here, in the city of Russian glory, to mark an important date. Today the West is trying to diminish the exploits of the Soviet people during World War II, and we should treat our history with due care to preserve and pass to our growing generation the invaluable experience of our fathers and grandfathers,” Shoigu said.
Seventy years ago, between April 8 and May 12, 1944, the Red Army supported by partisans conducted a strategic offensive to fully liberate the Crimean Peninsula from the Nazi invaders.
The battle took place on a small territory of around 26,000 square kilometers, but the fighting was especially intense and severe. Up to 700,000 people took part in the actions on both sides, with tens of thousands of guns and mortars as well as hundreds of tanks, aircraft and warships.
“The operation resulted in the excellent victory of the Soviet Armed Forces. It took the enemy 250 days to seize Sevastopol, but our troops liberated the whole Crimea from the enemy within 35 days,” the minister said.
According to the Russian General Staff, the Nazis had 100,000 casualties, of whom 62,000 were captured. Around 17,700 Red Army soldiers were killed, and another 67,600 were injured.
Shoigu said “the Crimean operation again showed the superiority of the Soviet military art, the high organizing abilities of officers and the massive heroism of Soviet soldiers.”
The Great Patriotic War is a term used in Russia and other ex-Soviet states to describe the conflict between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during World War II. The Soviet Union lost 26.6 million people in the war, including 8.6 million servicemen.
