Meeting commemorating one of Soviet Army's most successful operation takes place at the Kitskany lodgement

Russia's governmental delegation led by the vice-premier,DmitriyRogozin, has taken part in the event

"The Iasi-Kishinev operation is rightfully considered to be one of the Soviet Army's most successful operations in WWII and an important stage in the victory over the Nazi Germany and its allies,"   the special envoy of the Russian president on Pridnestrovie, Dmitriy Rogozin, quoted the testimonial by the Russian presidential chief of staff as saying.

Rogozin, in turn, noted that "historical memory is the only condition which is able to restrain a new threat." He cited the early 1990s events in the Baltic republics as an example of such threats, when nationalist movements and ideas were widely disseminated.

"As soon as such processes had started in Ukraine, many considered them as some recurrences, some individual instances of ultra-nationalism," remarked Dmitriy Rogozin.
According to him, this time  it has resulted in a fascist putsch.

"Today, multiple-launch rocket systems are razing to the ground the civilian population (in Ukraine's east, ed.) which has nothing in common with war, but has only declared its right to speak Russian and support the Russian culture," underscored the Russian vice-premier.

In this regard, Dmitriy Rogozin urged the meeting participants and all Pridnestrovians "to never remove the foot from the slab, which restrains Nazism."

Another high-ranking Russian guest, Vladimir Medinsky, the minister of culture, also emphasised the importance of the Iasi-Kishinev military operation.

"The Iasi-Kishinev operation is, in fact, a second Stalingrad: two Romanian and two German armies, 22 divisions were encircled and destroyed just as during the Stalingrad battle. Soviet losses were extremely low (even when compared with any other army throughout the history of WWII): 1,3 million soldiers took part in the offensive, and the irrecoverable losses made up only 1%," stated Vladimir Medinsky.

He also recalled that this military operation had gone down to history as one of the so-called Stalin's ten blows. Russia's minister of culture pointed out that Stalin's 3rd blow was the liberation of Crimea and Sevastopol, and the Iasi-Kishinev operation was the 7th blow preceding the liberation of Lvov and Western Ukraine.
One of the important stages of the operation was the liberation of Bendery on 23 August, underscored President Yevgeny Shevchuk.

"Today, Russia and Russian citizens, Pridnestrovie and Pridnestrovians are recalling this date," concluded the president.

During the celebrations at the Kitskany lodgement, Pridnestrovie's leadership, the members of the Russian governmental delegation, Great Patriotic War veterans and other meeting participants laid flowers to the lodgement's memorial signs.

The meeting also concluded the Memory Relay campaign, which earlier took place across Pridnestrovie. Russia's minister of culture gave a gift of the map of the Iasi-Kishinev operation to the Pridnestrovian president.

The president, the chairman and members of government, Pridnestrovie's MPs also laid flowers to the mass graves of soldiers who were killed in action during the Iasi-Kishinev operation.