"This is not just a monument; it is a memorial to the place where the victims are buried, a vast cemetery," Wroński said. According to him, the destruction of the memorials and cross in this location was deliberate, and attempts were also made to remove Latin inscriptions.
As reported earlier by Radio Poland, the Polish Consulate General in St. Petersburg confirmed the destruction of three burial sites of Polish soldiers who died in Soviet labor camps during WWII in the Borowicze region, located in northwestern Russia.
"We received information from a local resident that a group of people arrived with heavy equipment to destroy elements of our memorials," Wroński stated.
According to information obtained by Polish diplomats, the incident occurred after it was revealed that, in retaliation for the closure of the Russian consulate in Poznań, the Polish consulate in St. Petersburg would be shut down.
Wroński noted that the complex of memorials to Polish soldiers of the Home Army (AK) was destroyed after this announcement, while nearby German and Hungarian memorials remained intact.
The Borowicze camp complex, located in the Novgorod region, was one of the main sites of deportation for soldiers of the Home Army and the Peasant Battalions from 1944 to 1946. Over 6,000 Poles passed through it, deported by the NKVD.
On December 5, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the closure of the Polish Consulate General in St. Petersburg in retaliation for the earlier closure of the Russian Consulate General in Poznań.
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Source: PAP/MSZ/IAR
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