“Dear comrades!
On February 24, a special military operation began in Ukraine. Carrying out their duties to protect our people in Donbass and ensure the security of our homeland, Russian soldiers and officers act courageously and like true heroes.
Our soldiers fight steadfastly and fully aware of the rightness of their cause. Even after being wounded, the soldiers and officers remain in the ranks. They sacrifice themselves and their lives to save their fellow combatants and the civilian population.
“Truly great measure of heroism”
During the fighting, both our soldiers and the militia in Donbass show a truly great level of heroism.
I would like to mention the personnel of the 100th Motorized Rifle Brigade operating towards Donetsk. Under the command of Colonel Aleksiy Borisovich Berngard, they broke through the deep defenses in the Volnovakha area, which the nationalists had fortified and equipped for almost eight years. Lieutenant Viktor Sokolnik, commander of an armored platoon, destroyed five tanks during the battle.
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On February 25, Captain Alexei Lyovkin, company commander of the 163rd tank regiment, encountered nationalist units with 15 tanks and six BMPs near Chuginka. After attacking the enemy with his men, Captain Lyovkin destroyed all BMPs and five tanks and ensured that the combat mission was completed without casualties.
I signed the decree on awarding the title of Hero of Russia to Lieutenant Nurmagomed Engelsovich Hadjimagomedov – unfortunately, posthumously. In battle, he confidently commanded the fighters, while the commander took care of the subordinates. Having already been badly wounded, he fought to the last man and blew up the surrounding guerrillas and himself with a grenade. He took such a step because he knew who he was dealing with: neo-Nazis who tortured and brutally killed prisoners.
“I am proud to be part of this world, part of the powerful, strong, multinational people of Russia”
I am a Russian man and, as they say, I only have Ivans and Marias in my family. But when I see examples of such heroism, like that of a young man, Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov, a native of Dagestan, a Lak, and our other soldiers, then I want to say: I am a Lak, I am a Dagestan, I am a Chechen , an Ingush, a Russian, a Tatar, a Jew, a Mordvin, an Ossetian. It is simply impossible to enumerate all the more than three hundred nationalities and ethnic groups of Russia – I think you understand me – but I am proud to be part of this world, part of the powerful, strong, multinational people of Russia.
At the same time, I will never give up my belief that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, even if some residents of Ukraine were intimidated, many were deceived by Nazi nationalist propaganda, and some, of course, deliberately went the way of the Banderists and other Nazi henchmen who fought on Hitler’s side during the Great Patriotic War.
The course of hostilities shows that we are at war with neo-Nazis. Nationalist and neo-Nazi formations – including foreign mercenaries, including from the Middle East – cover civilians as “human shields”. I have already said: there is absolutely objective data, pictures of how they place heavy military equipment in residential areas of cities. They behave like the most extreme bandits and instead of fulfilling their promise to remove this equipment from residential areas, kindergartens and hospitals, they move tanks, artillery and mortars there as well.
Foreign citizens hostage
They also took foreign citizens hostage, including thousands of young people, students studying in Ukraine. For example, 3,179 Indian nationals, mostly students, were detained at Kharkiv railway station for more than a day. And most of them are still being held today. Of these, 576 are located in the city of Sumy. Neo-Nazis also opened fire on Chinese students trying to leave Kharkiv. Two of them were injured.
Here, too, hundreds of foreigners try to leave the war zone but are prevented from doing so. They are even held hostage by buying time or offering to evacuate them to Poland via Lemberg, that is, to drive through the entire war zone, putting them in danger.
Without exception, our soldiers have created corridors in all conflict zones. We have arranged transportation to allow civilians and foreign nationals to escape to safety.
More about the war in Ukraine at Tagesspiegel Plus:
Here, too, the nationalists do not allow this. They also urge foreign citizens to contact their authorities, who in turn must contact the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In reality, people are simply being shot at.
And the neo-Nazis treat their own citizens, their own people, even worse. As I said before, they shield people as “human shields”. Our military also noted this when residents of apartment buildings in the cities of the Donbas People’s Republics – Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and others – were forced into the middle floors of the buildings, while on the lower floors windows and walls were smashed, and on the roofs and heavy equipment, guns, tanks, machine guns and snipers were set up on the upper floors. Only the Nazis fought like this and treated the civilian population so inhumanely when the Soviet troops fought against them, including when liberating the territory of Ukraine.
I repeat: our soldiers and officers are trying to avoid civilian casualties, and, unfortunately, they are suffering casualties themselves.
Compensation for the families of the soldiers
It is our duty to support the families of our fallen and wounded comrades who fought for the security of the Fatherland, for our people, for the people of Russia.
All family members of military personnel who died during the special military operation in Ukraine will receive statutory insurance benefits and a lump sum of 7,421,000 rubles. In addition, each family member of a fallen soldier receives a monthly cash compensation.
In addition, however, I consider it necessary to provide for an additional payment of five million rubles (EUR 41,000) for each family of the deceased members of the Ministry of Defense, the army and employees of other security agencies who took part in the operation.
All soldiers wounded during the operation will also receive appropriate payments. I am referring to insurance and a one-time compensation for injury, trauma or contusion.
If a conscripted soldier is declared unfit for military service due to an injury, he will receive a lump sum of two million 968 thousand rubles ($9,000) and a monthly allowance in the event of disability. All of these measures are already required by law.
However, I also believe that additional payments of 3 million rubles (EUR 25,000) each should be provided for employees of the Ministry of Defense, employees and employees of other security agencies who took part in the operation and were wounded.
“Our soldiers fight for a peaceful life”
I repeat: on Ukrainian territory, our soldiers and officers are now fighting for Russia, for peaceful life of Donbass citizens, for the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, so that no “anti-Russia” that the West has been creating for years right on our borders , is threatening us, not even with nuclear weapons, as has happened recently.
Our people are proud of their armed forces. We will always remember our fallen comrades in arms. We will do everything in our power to support their families and their children – to give them an education, to support their relatives and loved ones.
I ask that we honor the memory of our soldiers who died in the performance of their military duties during a special military operation in Ukraine.
I would like to point out that the special military operation is strictly scheduled. All tasks have been completed successfully.”
