Russia Demands Berlin's Recognition of Leningrad Siege as Act of Genocide

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow insists on Berlin's official recognition of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany on Soviet territory during World War II, including the siege of Leningrad, as acts of genocide, the Russian Embassy in Germany said on Monday.

"The Russian side insists on the German side officially recognizing the atrocities of the Third Reich as acts of genocide," the embassy said in an official note.

The embassy also said that it had carefully studied the statement by the German Foreign Ministry of January 27, 2024, in which Berlin's historical responsibility for that crime against humanity committed by Nazi Germany is reaffirmed.

"The Russian side considers the siege of Leningrad as well as other atrocities of the Third Reich on the territory of the the Soviet Union as acts of genocide against the peoples of the Soviet Union," the note read.

However, Moscow "notes the contradictory nature of the German side's approach to the official recognition of crimes against humanity committed by Germany in the past as acts of genocide," the embassy also said. Having recognized its crimes during the era of colonialism as acts of genocide, Germany has still not done this in relation to the siege of Leningrad and other crimes against the Soviet population during World War II, it added.

Leningrad was cut off by Nazi German and allied troops on September 8, 1941. The siege was broken on January 18, 1943, but it was not fully lifted until a year later - on January 27, 1944.

In October 2022, the St. Petersburg City Court recognized the actions of the Nazis during the siege of Leningrad as a war crime and genocide of the Soviet people. Those who died as a result of the blockade number ed to at least 1,093,842.