An article by the President of Russia has been published in the German weekly newspaper
Die Zeit and is timed to coincide with the 80
th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic war.
© Twitter
On June 22, 1941, exactly 80 years ago, the Nazis, having conquered practically the whole of Europe, attacked the USSR. For the Soviet people the Great Patriotic War - the bloodiest one in the history of our country - began. Tens of millions of people lost their lives, the economic potential of the country and its cultural property were severely damaged.
We are proud of the courage and steadfastness of the heroes of the Red Army and home front workers who not only defended the independence and dignity of our homeland, but also saved Europe and the world from enslavement. Despite attempts to rewrite the pages of the past that are being made today,
the truth is that Soviet soldiers came to Germany not to take revenge on the Germans, but with a noble and great mission of liberation. We hold sacred the memory of the heroes who fought against Nazism. We remember with gratitude our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, participants in the Resistance movement, and German anti-fascists who brought our common victory closer.
Having lived through the horrors of the world war, the peoples of Europe were nevertheless able to overcome alienation and restore mutual trust and respect. They set a course for integration in order to draw a final line under the European tragedies of the first half of the last century. And I would like to emphasize that the historical reconciliation of our people with the Germans living both in the east and the west of modern united Germany played a huge role in the formation of such Europe.
Comment: One Czech TV station said the tornado may have been a F3 or F4 on the Fujita scale, rated at "significant" to "severe" damage. Meteorologist Michal Žák said it was "probably the strongest tornado in recent [Czech]history" and very uncommon in Europe reports RT. Here's more incredible footage:
This major and rare tornado in Europe comes only days after powerful storms ripped through Belgium, including a tornado that obliterates almost 100 homes in country's south.
To understand why this uptick in tornado activity may be occurring now, see the comment here: More intense and frequent thunderstorms linked to global climate variability