Russian WWII soldiers' remains buried in NE China
Xinhua, November 17, 2015 Adjust font size:
The remains of seven Russian soldiers who fell in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province while helping defend China against Japanese invaders in 1945 were buried in a martyrs' park in Mudanjiang City on Tuesday.
The seven soldiers belonged to an infantry division of the Soviet far-east army and died during the Battle of Huoshao Mountain in Heilongjiang's Muling City on Aug. 15, 1945, said Evgeny Tomikhin of the Russian Embassy in China.
Four soldiers were identified as Solomenko Gregory, Melekhin Timothy, Smagul Maidar and Mikhail Petrenko.
"I once tried to find my grandfather but failed. Now I know where to visit him," said Mikhail Petrenko's grandson who was invited to attend the burial ceremony.
"Chinese people have not forgotten the more than 12,000 Soviet Red Army soldiers who sacrificed their lives in northeastern China during the war," said Sun Rao, vice governor of Heilongjiang Province.
A Sino-Russian project to locate the remains of Russian soldiers started in May after villagers in Huoshao Mountain found four bodies in August 2012.
Three more bodies were found along with bullets, mortar parts and empty cans during the one-month search in dozens of possible burial sites covering a total of 32 square kilometers. Endi