US hinders Russian diplomats' WWII commemoration efforts
A number of embassy staff members, however, honored the Soviet soldiers who lost their lives in a plane crash during a joint mission. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Several staff members from the embassy still paid their respects to the Soviet soldiers who lost their lives in a plane crash in North Carolina.
According to the Russian embassy in Washington, the US government denied a request from Russian diplomats to travel on Saturday to honor the Soviet servicemen who died during a joint mission in World War II.
In a statement posted on its Telegram channel late Saturday, the embassy expressed disappointment at “attempts in the West to rewrite history and belittle the greatest feat of the Soviet people in crushing” Nazi Germany.
“Being in the US, we are acutely aware of the local political establishment’s desire to consign to oblivion the pages of Russian-American alliance during World War II,” the statement read. The embassy claimed that the US authorities’ “refusal to authorize a trip by Russian diplomats to Elizabeth City to hold a commemorative ceremony” serves as an example of this trend.
Despite the refusal, some embassy staff managed to make the trip to the North Carolina city, where they laid a wreath and flowers at the site of the crash that occurred on January 11, 1945, claiming the lives of four Soviet servicemen and a British air force member. The crew was engaged in a secret project codenamed ‘Zebra,’ which involved the transfer of seaplanes to the Soviet Union.
The Russian embassy characterized the joint mission, which was declassified in 2012, as “one of the symbols of a combat fraternity between the USSR and the US that were fighting shoulder to shoulder against Nazi butchers.” The diplomats underscored that Moscow and Washington combined their efforts during World War II, despite existing differences. The statement also highlighted the necessity of preserving historical truth for future generations and combating attempts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their collaborators.
Back in June, former Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov informed reporters that US authorities had opted to shut down the Russia Visa Application Centers in Washington and New York. He also mentioned that Washington had revoked the tax-exempt status for Russian embassy staff, which he criticized as a “petty, nasty attack.”
The former ambassador alleged that the US was “trying… to force our diplomats to hide behind the walls of the embassy, to stop communicating and working.”
Relations between Moscow and Washington have increasingly deteriorated over the past decade. The administration of former US President Barack Obama closed several Russian consulates after alleging Moscow's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Tensions escalated further with reciprocal measures following the intensification of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to the Russian embassy in Washington, the US government denied a request from Russian diplomats to travel on Saturday to honor the Soviet servicemen who died during a joint mission in World War II.
In a statement posted on its Telegram channel late Saturday, the embassy expressed disappointment at “attempts in the West to rewrite history and belittle the greatest feat of the Soviet people in crushing” Nazi Germany.
“Being in the US, we are acutely aware of the local political establishment’s desire to consign to oblivion the pages of Russian-American alliance during World War II,” the statement read. The embassy claimed that the US authorities’ “refusal to authorize a trip by Russian diplomats to Elizabeth City to hold a commemorative ceremony” serves as an example of this trend.
Despite the refusal, some embassy staff managed to make the trip to the North Carolina city, where they laid a wreath and flowers at the site of the crash that occurred on January 11, 1945, claiming the lives of four Soviet servicemen and a British air force member. The crew was engaged in a secret project codenamed ‘Zebra,’ which involved the transfer of seaplanes to the Soviet Union.
The Russian embassy characterized the joint mission, which was declassified in 2012, as “one of the symbols of a combat fraternity between the USSR and the US that were fighting shoulder to shoulder against Nazi butchers.” The diplomats underscored that Moscow and Washington combined their efforts during World War II, despite existing differences. The statement also highlighted the necessity of preserving historical truth for future generations and combating attempts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their collaborators.
Back in June, former Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov informed reporters that US authorities had opted to shut down the Russia Visa Application Centers in Washington and New York. He also mentioned that Washington had revoked the tax-exempt status for Russian embassy staff, which he criticized as a “petty, nasty attack.”
The former ambassador alleged that the US was “trying… to force our diplomats to hide behind the walls of the embassy, to stop communicating and working.”
Relations between Moscow and Washington have increasingly deteriorated over the past decade. The administration of former US President Barack Obama closed several Russian consulates after alleging Moscow's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Tensions escalated further with reciprocal measures following the intensification of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
James del Carmen contributed to this report for TROIB News
