These images show part of a bizarre museum that has opened in Russia and that showcases items that have been looted during the invasion of Ukraine, reportedly to illustrate the “brotherhood” between both countries.
This is according to both Ukrainian and Russian media, with the Ukrainian press reacting with bemusement and consternation at the revelation.
Ukrainian media has said that the organisers of the exhibition, located in Nefteyugansk, in the Khanty-Mansi region of central Russia, talk about the “brotherhood of peoples”, but do not specify how the “exhibits” were obtained.
The museum was reportedly opened by a group of Russian Marines to showcase “everyday things” from Ukraine.
Among the exhibits are military uniforms, equipment, medals, certificates, and a collection of children’s books, including fairy tales.
Denis Gribkov, the head of the city branch of the Union of Marines, has said that the purpose of the exhibition is to “show the similarities between Russians and Ukrainians and talk about the brotherhood of peoples” who were once part of the Soviet Union.
He said: “With the exhibition, we wanted to show the importance of our common history, which was and which is being written now.
“To talk about the brotherhood of peoples, about the big powerful USSR, where many developments were created that are used now, to this day.
“On one of our shelves, there is a [Ukrainian] newspaper, ‘Pravda’, from 1945, dedicated to the victory in the Great Patriotic War [World War II].”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation.” Today marks the 705th day of the full-scale war.
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The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 29th January 2024, Russia had lost approximately 383,180 personnel. 6,290 tanks, 11,696 armoured combat vehicles, 9,113 artillery units, 972 multiple launch rocket systems, 660 air defence systems. 331 warplanes, 324 helicopters, 7,049 drones, 1,846 cruise missiles, 23 warships, 1 submarine, 12,149 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 1,443 units of special equipment.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the war between his country and Russia risks escalating into World War III.
The Ukrainian president has been making the case for his country to continue to receive foreign military aid and said that should Russia hit a NATO country, this would be “the beginning of the Third World War.”
When asked by German media if he was disappointed that Berlin was not providing Ukraine with additional Taurus missiles. Zelensky said that he was only disappointed that Germany had not played “the role it should have played in the first occupation of Ukraine” in 2014.
He added that it was not solely Germany’s fault and that the weakness of the West’s response in 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea “concerns European leaders and the US”.
Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, is set to meet his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, on Monday in western Ukraine.
The move comes ahead of a European Union summit geared towards unlocking aid for Kyiv.
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Hungary has frustrated its Western allies by maintaining ties with Moscow. Delaying approval for Sweden’s NATO accession bid and attempting to block EU aid for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that funding for Ukraine also represents a key deterrent for China.
Speaking at the beginning of a trip to Washington to attempt to convince the US Congress to approve funding for Ukraine, Stoltenberg told Fox News. “What matters is that Ukraine gets continued support, because we need to realise that this is closely watched in Beijing.”
The UK Ministry of Defence has said that it believes that an increase in arson attacks on Russian enlistment offices “is highly likely due to a greater sense of dissatisfaction with the war among the Russian population”.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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