Russian Ambassador Summoned to Slovak Foreign Ministry After Cemetery Destruction Report

PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2022) Russian Ambassador to Bratislava Igor Bratchikov was summoned to the Slovak Foreign Ministry on Tuesday after a report from the Russian diplomatic mission about the destruction of a World War I cemetery of Russian soldiers.

Embassy spokesman Vitaly Zhitnyuk told Sputnik on September 15 that, on an order from head of the village of Ladomirova in eastern Slovakia, a bulldozer leveled the cemetery of Russian army soldiers who died in the First World War. The embassy called it a "sacrilegious step" and called on Slovakia to comply with the 1995 intergovernmental agreement on the burial places of fallen soldiers.

"On Tuesday, September 20, Russian Ambassador Igor Bratchikov was summoned to the Slovak Foreign Ministry in connection with a recent report about the alleged desecration of a military cemetery in Ladomirova," the Slovak Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The fact that the ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry was confirmed to Sputnik at the Russian Embassy.

The Slovak Foreign Ministry called the report about the desecration of the cemetery "fabricated accusations with no factual basis."

The ministry said Slovakia is complying with the provisions of the 1995 agreement and showing due care and respect for the graves and memorials of the military.