Ministerial Visit to the One-time Battleground

The Hungarian delegation was received by Norbert Konkoly, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary, Colonel Attila Márton, Military and Air Attaché, and on the Russian side by Verhovcev Artyom Jurijevics, the Vice-President of the Voronezh Oblast Governorate and Zinchenko Jurij Boriszovich, the head of the Bureau on Co-operation with the Administrative and Military organs of the Governorate. Minister of Defence of Hungary paid a courtesy visit at the leader of the Voronezh Oblast Administration. In the meeting Tibor Benkő and Aleksandr Viktorovich Gusev reaffirmed the joint political will, to continue to preserve the memory of the Hungarian and Russian heroes, fallen in Hungary and in Russia during WWII. They added that in the future they would raise to a new level and further enhance the co-operation in the area of war graves care reached so far.

“It is of utmost importance to mutually cherish the memory of our fallen soldiers" – Tibor Benkő underlined. Minister of Defence also added that in the hearts and souls of their relatives and descendants the fallen soldiers should live as an eternal memory. “It is equally important, that the future generation should familiarize themselves with history, so that the memory of the fallen soldiers could be further cherished in the future" – he pointed out. Minister of Defence highlighted that in Hungary people think that the fallen soldier is not an enemy. In the spirit of this thinking, tribute was paid with military honours on a number of occasions in Hungary, both to the memory of the Soviet soldiers fallen in Hungary and to the memory of the Hungarian soldiers who went missing in the battles at the River Don. “We respect, honour and preserve the memory of the fallen soldiers, because they sacrificed the most precious treasure, their lives for the Motherland" – Tibor Benkő said. In his answer, Aleksandr Viktorovich Gusev commended the work done so far, and expressed his continued support for the parties co-operating in the war graves care.

During the day, the Minister of Defence of Hungary and the Leader of Voronezh Oblast Administration jointly placed wreaths of remembrance at the Voronezs Soviet Monument.

Hungary and the Ministry of Defence as a token of their sincere appreciation, thanked with awarding honours, souvenirs for the dedicated work of the Russian soldiers and officials, who largely contributed to the worthy preservation of the memory of the Hungarian soldiers fallen in the Second World War. Tolochko Vasilij Vasiljevich, the Vice Director of the “Vojennije Memoriali" Military Memory-Preserving International Co-operation Association received the Honorific Title for Hungarian War Grave Care from the Defence Minister.

In the next leg of their visit to Russia, the members of the delegation visit the I. and the II. Hungarian Central Military Wargraves, where they commemorate with military honours the heroes killed in WWII.