Russian Embassy in Japan Criticizes Hiroshima Mayor’s Remarks on Ukraine and Nuclear Threats

Dragon Media News Desk

The Russian Embassy in Japan has strongly criticized remarks by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui concerning Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and alleged threats by Moscow to use nuclear weapons.

The embassy issued a statement on Friday in response to Matsui’s remarks during memorial events held on August 6, 2026, marking the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The Russian Embassy said Matsui’s comments were based on what it described as false narratives and argued that they overshadowed the purpose of the Hiroshima memorial ceremony.

The embassy also criticized Matsui for not explicitly naming the country responsible for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while, according to the Russian side, ignoring nuclear-related statements made by Western leaders against Russia.

“No attempts to rewrite history or distort the facts will succeed,” the embassy said in its statement.

The embassy said Russia would not accept what it described as the spread of false information regarding its military operation in Ukraine and would continue to defend what it considers the historical truth about the Second World War.

The statement also referred to Imperial Japan’s military campaigns in Southeast and Northeast Asia, the Nanjing and Manila massacres, crimes against ethnic minorities, the activities of Unit 731 and Unit 100, the use of forced labor involving civilians and prisoners of war, and the sexual enslavement of women.

The Russian Embassy also said it would oppose attempts to portray Russia as a country engaged in “nuclear rhetoric.”

According to the embassy, such accusations are intended to divert the attention of countries in the Global South and East from what it described as the colonial and neo-colonial record of Western powers and from continued military assistance to Ukraine.

The statement comes as differing political interpretations of historical memory, nuclear weapons and the Ukraine conflict have again surfaced around events commemorating the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.