Russia's Interior Ministry has given the French Ambassador to Russia a puppy named Dobrynya, in memory of а French police dog that died in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris last month.
German shepherd Dobrynya was handed to French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert by Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov at the French Embassy on Monday, a statement on the Interior Ministry's website said.
The gift was meant to commemorate the death of Diesel — a Belgian Malinois that died in a raid by French special forces on a Paris apartment in the wake of the terror attacks on the French capital last month, a statement on the embassy's website said.
Diesel's death sparked a wave of solidarity, with social media commenters using the hashtag #JeSuisChien, French for "I Am Dog," to mourn the animal's loss.
Ripert called the gift "a gesture that comes from the heart."
"The puppy you are giving us today will replace Diesel and proves your friendship. They are waiting for this puppy in Paris," he said, according to a video of the event on the ministry's website.
The wave of coordinated attacks on several venues in Paris on Nov. 13 by Islamic State militants killed 130 people. The Islamic State is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.
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