US obstructs Russian diplomats’ WWII commemoration

Several embassy staff members nevertheless paid their respects to the Soviet soldiers who perished in a plane crash in North Carolina

The US authorities refused to authorize a trip by Russian diplomats on Saturday to commemorate the Soviet servicemen who perished in a plane crash in North Carolina during a joint mission during World War II, according to the Russian embassy in Washington.

In a post on its Telegram channel late on Saturday, the embassy expressed regret over “attempts in the West to rewrite history and belittle the greatest feat of the Soviet people in crushing” Nazi Germany.

“Being in the US, we are acutely aware of the local political establishment’s desire to consign to oblivion the pages of Russian-American alliance during World War II,” the statement read. According to the embassy, the US authorities’ “refusal to authorize a trip by Russian diplomats to Elizabeth City to hold a commemorative ceremony” exemplifies these efforts.

Nevertheless, at least some of the embassy staff did end up making the trip to the North Carolina city, where they laid a wreath and flowers at the site where on January 11, 1945, four Soviet servicemen and a British air force member lost their lives in a plane crash. The crew was participating in a secret project codenamed ‘Zebra’ that involved transferring seaplanes to the Soviet Union.

The Russian embassy described the joint mission, which was declassified in 2012, as “one of the symbols of a combat fraternity between the USSR and the US that were fighting shoulder to shoulder against Nazi butchers.” The diplomats noted that during World War II Moscow and Washington united their forces despite their differences. The statement also emphasized the importance of preserving history for future generations and countering attempts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their accomplices.

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Back in June, former Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told reporters that the US authorities had decided to shut down the Russia Visa Application Centers in Washington and New York. He also revealed that Washington had revoked the tax exemption status of Russian embassy workers, which he denounced as a “petty, nasty attack.” 

The former ambassador claimed that the Americans were “trying… to force our diplomats to hide behind the walls of the embassy, to stop communicating and working.” 

Relations between Moscow and Washington have progressively soured over the past decade. The administration of former US President Barack Obama shut down several Russian consulates after accusing Moscow of “interference” in the 2016 presidential election. Tit-for-tat measures involving the two countries’ missions further intensified after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.