August 13, 2015
No. 155
Descendants of Constantin Opasov and Nikolai Matveev, members of the Soviet Volunteer Group, will visit Taiwan from August 13 to 17 to attend events commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance against Japan and the retrocession of Taiwan at the invitation of the Republic of China.
Between 1937 and 1941, the Soviet government sent more than 3,000 military advisors, volunteer air force members, and ground staff to support the ROC war effort. They participated in key battles defending Nanjing, Xuzhou, Taierzhuang, Nanchang, Wuhan, and a number of other places, downing 459 Japanese warplanes, and destroying over 100 Japanese vessels. Regretfully, over 200 Soviet pilots lost their lives in these engagements, including Opasov at the Battle of Wuhan and Matveev at Lanzhou in air-to-air combat.
President Ma Ying-jeou will present commemorative medals in recognition of the wartime contributions and sacrifices of Opasov and Matveev to Evgeny Opasov, son of Constantin, and Adrey Matveev, grandson of Nikolai. The president hopes that the world will never forget that the Soviet Volunteer Group fought alongside the ROC military. (E)