Russian Diplomats Pay Tribute at Vandalised Soviet War Memorial in the Netherlands

Dragon Media News Desk

Russian diplomats in the Netherlands have laid flowers at a Soviet war memorial vandalised earlier this month and paid tribute to those who died during the Second World War.

According to the Russian Embassy, the diplomats visited the Soviet Field of Honour cemetery in Leusden, near Amersfoort, on July 25. They observed a minute of silence in memory of the 865 Soviet war victims buried at the site.

The cemetery contains the remains of soldiers and civilians from the former Soviet Union who died during the war against Nazi Germany or while being held as prisoners of war. Among those buried there are Central Asian prisoners who were detained at the Amersfoort concentration camp.

On the night of July 10, unidentified individuals defaced the memorial’s central obelisk and more than 150 headstones with red paint and graffiti. The Soviet War Cemetery Foundation described the incident as a serious act of disrespect toward the dead and their families.

Russian diplomats also inspected the progress of restoration work at the memorial complex. According to the embassy, paint has been removed from the obelisk, while the cleaning and repair of damaged headstones remain under way.

Russia’s acting chargé d’affaires in the Netherlands, A. Buzanakov, said acts of vandalism against military graves and war memorials were unacceptable. He said the embassy would continue its duty to preserve the historical memory of the Soviet people’s contribution to the defeat of Nazism.

“The paint has been removed from the obelisks, but the disgrace the vandals brought upon themselves through their shameless actions will remain forever,” he said.

Representatives of anti-fascist groups in the Netherlands also joined the Russian diplomats at the memorial. The embassy described their participation as a sign of solidarity and a message that the memory of Soviet war heroes could not be erased through political hatred or vandalism.

Established in 1948, the Soviet Field of Honour in Leusden is one of the principal Soviet war memorial sites in the Netherlands. Dutch researchers and volunteers have continued efforts to identify those buried there and trace their surviving relatives.