Russian ambassador to Vienna speaks about vandalism of war gravesites

The Austrian authorities are taking a responsible approach to fulfilling their obligations to preserve and care for our war graves and monuments from the First and Second World Wars. Russian Ambassador to Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky told Izvestia in an interview.

"Acts of vandalism happen, and not only in Vienna itself, but also at individual burial sites. Each such case entails a note: we file a protest, some kind of investigation is conducted, usually without result: it is difficult to catch the vandals. But the Austrian authorities at the federal and local levels always respond to such appeals very seriously, and, as a rule, the consequences are quickly eliminated," says the Ambassador.

There are more than 230 Russian and Soviet burial sites from the two world wars in Austria. According to the diplomat, employees of Russian diplomatic missions annually inspect the condition of memorials in all federal states. Thus, 86 graves were inspected in 2023 and 76 in 2024.

Read more in an exclusive interview with Izvestia:

"There is no change in bellicose rhetoric against Moscow here in the slightest"