Hungarian Governmental Delegation Lays Wreaths in the Don Bend

The members of the governmental delegation – Imre Farkas, the State Secretary of the
Ministry of National Development, Géza Poprády, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Rural
Development, Ministerial Commissioner Ernő Keskeny, Catholic Military Bishop László
Bíró and Szilárd Kiss, the attaché of the Hungarian embassy in Moscow – laid wreaths on the
occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Don breakthrough in the Hungarian military cemetery
at Rudkino as well as by the Soviet memorial of the Great Patriotic War erected above the
Don Bend in Gremyache. In what followed, the delegation met Sergi, the metropolitan of
Voronezh and Borisoglebski.

Bishop Sergey, the commissioner of Metropolitan Ilarion, the head of foreign affairs
department at the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church also traveled from
Moscow to Voronezh to take part in the commemorations, Ernő Keskeny noted.

On the Hungarian side, Military Bishop László Bíró said a prayer and gave a speech in the
2nd Hungarian Central Military Cemetery at Rudkino. The representative of the Catholic
Church and the Hungarian Defence Forces told Hungarian News Agency MTI that in his
speech delivered by the Soviet war memorial, the bishop of the cathedral of Voronezh had
referred to the Holy Scripture, noting that the commemorators had gathered there in the spirit
of reconciliation.

Speaking in the Hungarian military cemetery, László Bíró stressed that it was the fruit of a
great many people’s work that now they have the chance to mourn, remember and say thanks
together to those simple Russian families whose members had often shared their last bit of
bread with the withdrawing Hungarian soldiers.

“The Russian people had a very great share in making it possible for more than 100,000
Hungarians to return home. They did not see the withdrawing soldiers as enemies but rather
as men in need of help", the Hungarian military bishop said. He stressed that “at last, we
have now reached the stage where we can mourn together, commemorate together and pray
together". We have fought our way to this joint commemoration."

Photo: mospat.ru