Victory Day celebrations across Russia and the world: As it happened (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

09 May 2026

These live updates from Victory Day celebrations have now concluded.

As Victory Day draws to an end, spectacular fireworks exploded directly over the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, lighting up the night sky. The cathedral glowed in white, blue, and red as a huge crowd below roared in celebration.

The powerful display marked the grand finale of Russia’s main national holiday.

Hundreds of people marched through Moldova carrying portraits of their relatives who fought in WWII, with young women leading the column holding photos of their grandfathers. A sea of red flags waved behind them as participants honored the memory of Soviet soldiers on Victory Day.

The procession took place as Moldovan authorities were marking ‘Europe Day’ and had outlawed the use of St. George ribbons.

In Berlin’s Treptow Park, where over 7,000 Soviet soldiers who liberated the city are buried, police removed St. George ribbons from the memorial area outside the site.

At the same time, inside the crypt, the USSR anthem was played, a Russian flag was laid at the wreath, and St. George ribbons were placed among the flowers.

Russian soldiers have restored Soviet memorials and military cemeteries in frontline regions as part of Victory Day commemorations, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

In Lugansk, troops restored a monument to fallen soldiers, while in Belgorod region, a cemetery of Soviet soldiers was carefully preserved and put in order.

“Historical memory must be protected,” the ministry emphasized, highlighting the importance of maintaining monuments even in areas close to the line of contact.

Putin has stated that the stronger Russia becomes, the faster the Ukrainian conflict will end. He attributed the current situation largely to “rematch sentiment” and resentment among European elites, who expected Russia to collapse within six months after the start of the special military operation.

According to Putin, Western elites anticipated the collapse of Russian businesses, the banking system, and mass homelessness, hoping to “take a bite” from a weakened Russia. He cited Finland’s decision to join NATO as an example, noting that Helsinki had no territorial disputes with Moscow but joined in expectation of Russia’s downfall.

The Russian leader added that European elites are now beginning to realize the situation is far more difficult than expected and that it would be wiser to restore normal relations and seek mutually acceptable agreements.

Putin also stated that it is the globalist faction of Western elites that is effectively waging war against Russia using Ukrainians as a proxy.

”We need to make sure that no one is threatening us. This is our goal,” Putin said when asked about the parameters of peace negotiations.

Putin has said that the Ukrainian side had signaled readiness for a meeting between him and Zelensky, which could take place in a third country.

However, Putin stressed that any meeting should only happen after a final long-term peace agreement has been reached. He noted that he and Zelensky should meet only to sign the prepared document, not to conduct negotiations, citing the unsuccessful experience of the Minsk Accords.

Putin has said that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is his most preferred negotiator in Ukraine talks from Europe.

Russia remains ready to remove Iranian enriched uranium, Putin has announced.

Putin has highlighted the strategic importance of ties between Russia and China, calling their cooperation the most significant factor in stabilizing international relations.

He also expressed gratitude to Beijing for its support in the diversification of Russia’s high-tech sectors.

Putin has revealed that this year’s Victory Day parade on Red Square featured no military hardware not only due to security concerns, but primarily because Russian forces must remain focused on defeating the enemy during the special military operation.

“It’s not a jubilee year, but still it’s Victory Day,” Putin said. 

Foreign leaders who arrived in Moscow for Victory Day demonstrated personal courage, Putin has emphasized.

Putin has said he believes that the Ukrainian conflict is coming to an end.

Putin has said it is possible that he will meet with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in a third country once final agreements on the Ukrainian settlement have been reached.

He emphasized that the discussion should focus on signing agreements, not negotiations.

After a series of Victory Day meetings, Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a press conference in Moscow.

He said US President Donald Trump spoke “very respectfully” about May 9 during their latest phone call.

Thousands of people gathered on the embankment in Estonia’s Narva to watch Victory Day celebrations across the river in Russia’s Ivangorod, where commemorative events have been held in recent years.

One attendee told RT that even pressure at work did not stop him from coming, saying Victory Day remains “the most important holiday” for his family. He said his grandfather had been a partisan and his wife’s grandmother a wartime nurse, adding that the desire to honor their memory was stronger than fear of possible consequences.

India’s role in World War II extended far beyond the battlefield. After British-ruled India entered the war against Germany in 1939, hundreds of thousands of South Asian soldiers fought in campaigns from North Africa to the decisive battles against Japanese forces near Kohima in northeast India. At the same time, the colony supplied critical material support for the Allied war effort, even as wartime taxes and economic hardship deepened across the country.

Historian and academic Hindol Sengupta told RT that the end of World War II also marked “the beginning of the end of empire.” Speaking from New Delhi, he said Britain emerged from the war economically weakened, while anti-colonial movements gained momentum across Asia. In India, the war years fueled both political mobilization and a “mental shift,” convincing many Indians they no longer needed to live under British rule.

Watch full RT coverage:

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with South Ossetian President Alan Gagloyev on the sidelines of Victory Day commemorations, praising the republic’s contribution to the Soviet victory in World War II.

Putin noted that South Ossetia marks Victory Day “in a grand manner” for a reason, saying Ossetians made a major contribution to the Great Patriotic War. He added that South Ossetia has “the most Heroes of the Soviet Union per capita,” with eight people awarded the title, and stressed that almost half of those who went to the front never returned.

Tensions flared during a Victory Day memorial ceremony in Warsaw honoring Soviet soldiers, after a woman snatched a Russian flag from one of the participants.

The incident sparked a brief confrontation at the site, underscoring how World War II commemorations in Europe remain politically charged amid current tensions with Russia.

Rare original Soviet newspapers from 1945, including Pravda and Red Fleet, show how the end of World War II was reported at the time. One issue of Pravda, published on May 10, 1945, carried congratulations from Winston Churchill and Harry Truman after Nazi Germany’s defeat – though Truman’s message did not specifically mention the Soviet Union’s role in the victory.

That coincides with how World War II is often taught in the US, where major battles such as Moscow and Stalingrad receive far less attention than Pearl Harbor or Normandy. The USSR lost 27 million people in the war, and Soviet media at the time often highlighted women serving in the Red Army, including medics, telephone operators, engineers, factory workers, and personnel working near the front line.

Watch full RT coverage on USSR’s role in defeating Hitler:

The Immortal Regiment march took place in Netanya, Israel, bringing together members of the local Russian-speaking community, veterans’ families, and activists from Israel’s anti-fascist movement.

Participants carried portraits of relatives who fought against Nazism during World War II, honoring the memory of Soviet soldiers and civilians who contributed to the defeat of fascism. Organizers said the event aimed to preserve historical memory and pass it on to younger generations.

Vladimir Putin has met a delegation from Republika Srpska, including both the former and current presidents, Sinisa Karan and Milorad Dodik, at the Kremlin on Victory Day.

Russia is “our main strategic partner on the international arena,” Karan has said.

“We are true friends… This is how it was, this is how it is, and we hope this is how it will be.”

In Berlin’s Treptower Park, police detained two pro-Russian visitors during a tense confrontation at a Victory Day memorial event, according to the RT team witnessing it.

The incident reportedly began after a group of masked activists arrived with Ukrainian and ‘Free Russia’ flags and started shouting nationalist slogans. Pro-Russian participants at the memorial objected, leading to a verbal clash before police intervened.

Another man was reportedly detained after displaying and waving a Russian flag near the Soviet War Memorial.

In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, a motorcycle convoy marked the 81st anniversary of the 1945 victory with a symbolic demonstration across the capital’s streets.

The procession combined historical remembrance with a political message, turning the commemoration into both a tribute to the defeat of fascism and a public statement on memory, sovereignty, and anti-colonial legacy.

In Jakarta, the Immortal Regiment march was held for the tenth time, bringing together numerous Indonesian participants carrying portraits of relatives who fought in the Second World War.

RT correspondent Indra Marpaung attended the Victory Day event, which also featured a concert with patriotic songs and traditional dances performed by young members of the Russian community.

Organizers stressed that the commemoration is not only about remembrance, but also about preserving historical truth and honoring the 27 million Soviet lives lost in World War II.

Authorities in Transdniestria said around 105,000 people took part in the Immortal Regiment march across the region, representing nearly a quarter of its population.

Political commentator Jackson Hinkle has congratulated viewers on Victory Day, telling RT that Russia has become “the home of free speech, critical thinking, and free thought.”

Victory Day was also commemorated in Tehran, where officials and guests took part in a wreath-laying ceremony.

”This is the day of victory over fascism, which cast a dark shadow not only over Europe but over the entire world,” Russia’s ambassador to Iran, Alexey Dedov, said during the event.

RT’s Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan has wished the Russian troops taking part in the Ukraine conflict a happy Victory Day on the 81st anniversary of the Soviet and Allied triumph in the Great Patriotic War, saying that they are now fighting to rescue the European nations from the reemergence of fascism.

Back in the day, renowned European writers like Romain Gary and Jean-Paul Sartre understood that the Soviet Union “saved Europe” by defeating the Nazi German forces in the Battle of Stalingrad in July 1942 –February 1943, she wrote in a post on social media.

“The European values — which were once values of humanism – are now, regrettably, transforming into the values of a new fascism,” Simonyan warned.

However, she stressed that she has “absolutely no doubt that, together with you, we will save Europe from this new fascism once again.”

The Ukrainian military has violated the Victory Day ceasefire on 8,970 occasions since it took effect on Friday midnight, including by drone and artillery strikes, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

Earlier this week, Moscow announced a truce to coincide with the commemorations of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War. Kiev initially refused to observe it, but US President Donald Trump later declared that Ukraine had agreed to a May 9-11 ceasefire.

“People try to change history” by claiming D-Day – rather than battles such as Stalingrad or Kursk – was the turning point of World War Two, Christopher Helali, senior journalist at DD Geopolitics, said during RT’s live Victory Day coverage.

Helali joined host Rory Suchet in the on-location studio during coverage of the parade on Moscow’s Red Square, where he warned against attempts at historical revisionism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide, Yury Ushakov, has told RT that “there was no attack on Red Square [by Ukraine]. Naturally, there was no massive retaliatory missile strike on Kiev on our part.”

Russia previously promised a harsh response if Ukraine fulfilled Vladimir Zelensky’s threat to target the Victory Day parade in Moscow.

A decree signed by Zeleksky, by which he claimed to allow the parade in the Russian capital, was a “clown show” and a “circus,” Ushakov stressed.

“Never forget your history. Never,” aviation expert and former pilot Cyrille de Lattre said during RT’s special coverage of Victory Day celebrations and the military parade on Moscow’s Red Square.

“Without the Eastern Front, without the 27 million Soviet people who died for this liberty,” Europe would not have been liberated from Nazism, he told host Rory Suchet in studio on-location.

Watch the full interview:

Videos have been published on social media showing residents of the Ukrainian cities of Kiev and Kharkov bringing flowers to Second World War memorials.

People are paying respects to those who lost their lives fighting Nazi Germany, despite Ukraine abandoning the Soviet tradition of celebrating Victory Day on May 9. The country now marks it on May 8, together with the US and Western European nations.

On Saturday, Ukraine is celebrating Europe Day, with Vladimir Zelensky thanking the EU for the military aid it has provided to Kiev during the conflict with Moscow in a statement on the holiday. He insisted the assistance was “not charity” on the part of the Europeans because “the Ukrainians… are fighting... not only for themselves, but for the entire continent.”

The authorities in Moscow have repeatedly denied claims of planning to use force against Europe as “nonsense.” A conflict with NATO is only possible if Russia is attacked first, but in this case the response will be harsh, they have warned.

Participants marched through the streets of Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg on May 9 as part of the annual ‘Immortal Regiment of Luxembourg’ procession marking the 81st anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Hundreds of people with portraits of late relatives who had fought in the Second World War took part in the ‘Immortal Regiment’ march in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev has laid a wreath at the Soviet memorial and military cemetery in Berlin’s Treptower Park. The ceremony was attended by members of the Russia community and German activists, who also came to pay their respects to those who lost their lives defeating the Third Reich.

Footage from the scene captured people carrying replicas of the Victory Banner and Russian national flags, despite the ban on displaying Soviet and Russian symbols imposed by the German authorities.

During a reception at the Kremlin in honor of the foreign leaders, who arrived in Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations, President Putin said that May 9 serves as “a somber reminder of the terrible consequences of blind faith in one’s superiority, racism, xenophobia and the denial of other nations’ right to their own identity.”

“I am convinced that the multipolar architecture taking shape today must be grounded in the norms of the UN... and proceed from the principle of equal and indivisible security, while taking into account the cultural and civilizational diversity of nations and their right to determine their own destiny,” Putin insisted.

A Victory Day parade has been held in Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg, with a military procession to Dvortsovaya Square involving more than a thousand troops.

As part of RT’s special coverage of the Victory Day celebrations and parade on Red Square, host Rory Suchet is joined in the on-location studio by former US Army officer Stanislav Krapivnik to reflect on the legacy of World War II.

Krapivnik, who was born in Lugansk in Soviet Ukraine, shared his family’s experience during the war, recalling that many of his relatives were killed in the first months of the Nazi invasion.

”Everyone talks about Germany, but most of Europe was under Hitler’s new European order and they marched into the Soviet Union,” Krapivnik said. “A lot of my family members died in the first three months stopping the Germans.”

Watch the full discussion below.

There have been no attempts to disrupt Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

"Nobody tried anything, everything is fine,” Peskov told journalists when asked about earlier threats by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to target the parade on Red Square.

Moscow announced a two-day ceasefire starting on Friday to coincide with the Victory Day commemorations. Kiev initially refused to observe it, but US President Donald Trump later declared that Ukraine had agreed to a May 9-11 truce.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders who attended the Victory Day parade have laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial in Alexander Garden outside the Kremlin walls.

Moscow’s Victory Day parade concluded with an aerial flypast featuring Russian military aircraft over the capital.

The display included the 'Kuban Diamond' formation, performed jointly by the Russian Knights and Swifts aerobatic teams flying Su-30 and MiG-29 fighter jets at close range.

In the finale, six Su-25 attack aircraft released colored smoke in the white, blue and red of the Russian flag across the Moscow sky.

During his address, President Putin said that “the great feat of the generation of victors” who defeated the Nazis in the Great patriotic war, inspires the Russian troops taking part in the Ukraine conflict.

“They are standing up to an aggressive force that is being armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And, despite this, our heroes are moving forward,” the president stressed.

The Russian troops have marched on Red Square as part of the Victory day parade.

President Putin has called for a moment of silence to commemorate those who died during the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet Union lost an estimated 27 million people in the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered his address to the troops assembled on Red Square and his fellow citizens on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Soviet and Allied victory over Nazi Germany.

”Our soldiers suffered huge losses, and made huge sacrifices in the name of freedom and the dignity of the peoples of Europe,” Putin said.

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov has reviewed the Victory Day parade led by Colonel General Andrey Mordvichev, Hero of Russia and Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces.

The oldest veteran of the Great Patriotic War to attend the Victory Day parade is almost 103 years old, Tass has reported.

Kirill Semyonov was born on May 22, 1923 in Nizhny Novgorod Region. He was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army in March 1942. Semyonov is sitting on the tribune on Red Square next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Victory Day parade has started in Moscow; President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Slovakia, Belarus, Indonesia and other countries are attending the event in Red Square.

An ‘Immortal Regiment’ march, commemorating those who gave their lives to defeat Nazi Germany, has taken place in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

The Second World War was “a watershed moment in human history” and the Russian people “made the utmost contribution to the victory” over the Third Reich, Deputy Chief of the Russian Embassy Roman Babushkin told RT.

The largest city in Russia’s Far East, Vladivostok, has marked the 81st anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War with a military parade and an Immortal Regiment march.

Some 600 people have taken part in the ‘Immortal Regiment’ march at the Russian Embassy compound in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

An ‘Immortal Regiment’ march has taken place in Kyrgyzstan, with numerous people taking to the streets of the capital of the former Soviet Republic, Bishkek, with portraitists of their relatives, who fought in the Great Patriotic War.

Preparations for the Victory Day parade are underway in Moscow. The big event on Red Square starts at 10:00 AM Moscow time (07:00 GMT).

The Defense Ministry in Moscow has published footage of Russian troops flying a drone with a replica of the Victory Banner above areas recently liberated from the Ukrainian forces in Donbass.

The iconic red flags were also raised in Krasnoarmeysk, Grishino and Seversk in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic to “symbolize the unbreakable bond between generations and fidelity to the heroic traditions of our Fatherland,” the ministry said.

The Victory Banner was erected by Red Army soldiers - Aleksey Berest, Mikhail Egorov and Meliton Kantaria - atop the Reichstag building in German capital, Berlin, in early May 1945.

In Irkutsk, one of the largest cities in eastern Siberia, tens of thousands of residents joined the Immortal Regiment march, carrying portraits of relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany. Local media reported that so many people took part in the procession that the march through the city’s main square lasted around 15 minutes.

The Victory Day procession in the city of Blagoveshchensk in Russia’s Far East, near the border with China, has concluded with an unexpected twist as one of the cadets used the occasion to propose to his girlfriend.

A chorus of dozens of future officers asked the lady to agree to become the wife of their fellow serviceman, and she said: “yes.”

One of the world’s northernmost and most isolated cities, Norilsk, has launched its Victory Day procession, with military vehicles already passing along the route and the Immortal Regiment column gathering to march toward Heroes’ Memory Square.

The city will hold a flower-laying ceremony at the “Norilsk – City of Labor Valor” stele. Authorities and local activists have also prepared other festivities, including a Victory Waltz dance flash mob, a “1945” patriotic run, sports events, documentary screenings, and a fireworks display.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has congratulated the Russian people and President Vladimir Putin on the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, state-run KCNA news agency has reported.

In his message, Kim expressed confidence that Russia’s “great victorious history” will continue, the agency said.

He wished Putin good health and success in protecting his country’s dignity and national interests, it added.

Pyongyang will “give top priority to the comprehensive strategic partnership... between our two countries and invariably develop it,” the North Korean leader said as cited by KCNA.

Siberia’s largest city, Novosibirsk, is holding a military parade on Lenin Square, followed by an Immortal Regiment march along Krasny Avenue. Mayor Maksim Kudryavtsev said the city was paying tribute to those who “walked the paths of the Great Patriotic War” and brought the long-awaited Victory.

Ulan-Ude, the capital of Russia’s Buddhist-majority Buryatia Region in eastern Siberia, has seen more than 1,500 servicemen from the local garrison take part in a Victory Day parade.

The event began with a color guard carrying the Russian flag and a copy of the Victory Banner to the sound of the Sacred War. They were followed by 25 marching units, led by a combined detachment of drummers in a nod to the historical tradition of the May 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow.

Chita, the capital of Russia’s Transbaikal Region, held a Victory Day parade with around 1,700 people marching through the main square.

The ceremony opened with the Russian flag and a copy of the Victory Banner carried out to the Sacred War, followed by a formation of female drummers and the honor guard of the 29th Guards Combined Arms Army.

The march included Eastern Military District officers, pilots, air-defense personnel, women servicemembers, participants in the Ukraine conflict, border guards, police, emergency workers, cadets, Yunarmiya members, and Transbaikal Cossacks.

In Birobidzhan, the capital of Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region, descendants of Great Patriotic War veterans marched through the main square alongside local garrison units, as the Russian state flag and a copy of the red Victory Banner were carried in.

Veterans, parade units, and residents later gathered in Victory Square for a flower-laying ceremony at the obelisk, with regional officials, military representatives, and members of youth patriotic movements taking part.

Helicopters known locally as “orcas” flew over Magadan as thousands gathered for an Immortal Regiment march in the Far Eastern regional capital.

The black-and-white Mi-38 helicopters, named for their resemblance to orcas, were decorated with St. George ribbons, the Victory Banner, and portraits of Great Patriotic War hero pilots Vitaly Popkov and Vasily Borisov.

Thousands of residents and guests assembled near the TV tower and Komsomolskaya Square for the commemorative procession.

The crew of the nuclear-powered submarine cruiser Alexander Nevsky took part in the Victory Day parade in Vladivostok, where around 1,400 people marched in 18 columns. The parade in Russia’s Far Eastern port city was led mainly by Pacific Fleet personnel and reviewed by the fleet’s commander, Admiral Viktor Liina. Artillery salvos were fired from D-30 guns on Korabelnaya Embankment as the national anthem was played.

The day’s events began with a flower-laying ceremony at the memorial to merchant sailors who lost their lives transporting war materials, food, and personnel during the Great Patriotic War. After the parade, spectators watched a large-scale theatrical performance before the Immortal Regiment march began along Svetlanskaya Street.

Meanwhile, residents and guests of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky have joined an in-person Immortal Regiment march through the city center, singing wartime songs and carrying portraits of relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War and other armed conflicts.

Veterans, home-front workers, active servicemen, and local residents and officials gathered in the center of Russia’s Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk to mark the 81st anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The parade featured drummers from the Ussuriysk Suvorov Military School, officers and servicewomen from the Eastern Military District, Air Force and air-defense units, Radiological, Chemical and Biological (RCB) Defence Troops, local cadets, and students of the Rokossovsky Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School.

The marching columns were followed by a performance from the honor guard and a combined military band.

08 May 2026

Russia’s Far Eastern island region of Sakhalin has held a military parade in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko congratulated residents and veterans, saying Victory Day carries “family stories of the war years” and pride in a nation that “withstood the enemy and triumphantly reached Berlin.”

“We are grateful to all those who fought courageously at the front and worked tirelessly on the home front,” he said, adding that many Sakhalin residents were among them. “Our memory of the heroes will live forever in our hearts.”

Russia’s Far Eastern Arctic region of Chukotka held its first off-road Immortal Regiment event ahead of the main celebrations on May 9, with drivers of Arctic vehicles crossing the snowy tundra while carrying portraits of heroes who defended the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War.

Organizers said the event honored both frontline soldiers and Chukotka residents who worked on the home front, supplying the army with tin and food. The off-road procession is now planned as an annual event to involve young people and preserve historical memory.

In Anadyr, May 9 events began with a prayer service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral at 10am local time, followed by an Immortal Regiment march through the city’s central streets. The celebrations include dozens of events and will conclude with fireworks on Mount Verblyuzhya at 10pm local time.

Victory Day celebrations have begun in Russia’s easternmost regions, with a parade held in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky from 10am local time.

Around 900 people marched through the main square of the City of Military Glory, including servicemen from the Joint Command of Troops and Forces in northeast Russia, female military personnel, border guards, police and Emergencies Ministry staff, according to the Pacific Fleet.

An Immortal Regiment march is due to begin at noon local time on the city’s central street. Concerts, commemorative events, and themed venues will run throughout the day across Kamchatka, with the celebrations set to end in a fireworks display.

The Russian Embassy in Lithuania has held commemorative events for veterans and compatriots living in the country, with the Immortal Regiment and Garden of Memory events taking place on May 8 on the embassy grounds.

A Candle of Memory event has been held in Moldova, with participants lighting 1,418 candles to symbolize each day of the Great Patriotic War. The commemorative event, first launched years ago in the autonomous region of Gagauzia, has since taken on a nationwide scale and is now held in several cities.

In Chisinau, dozens gathered at the Eternity Memorial Complex, including families with children, civic activists, and supporters of the Party of Communists.

“Every year, we light 1,418 candles in memory of the 1,418 days and nights of the war,” PCRM leader Vladimir Voronin said. “It is hard to imagine even a single moment at war, yet the Soviet people managed to defeat fascism.”

Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergey Mikayev, and Andrey Fedyaev have sent greetings from aboard the International Space Station, which was decorated with the Victory Banner.

“From aboard the International Space Station, we can clearly see how beautiful and fragile our planet is, and how important it is to preserve what our ancestors defended,” they said.

“Victory in the Great Patriotic War is an example of the courage, resilience, and heroism shown to the whole world by the citizens of our country. Thanks to them, today we can dream, explore space, and build the future,” the cosmonauts added, urging their compatriots to cherish what previous generations preserved.

“No nation should forget its history,” Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said during a meeting with Putin.

“I am here to tell our younger generation that their grandfathers were heroes, this is the most important thing, we must not forget this.”

If you’re just joining us: 

• Trump has announced on Truth Social that a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine will take place on May 9-11, saying it will halt “all kinetic activity” and include a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each side. 
• Foreign leaders have arrived in Moscow to attend the Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9. Among them Sinisa Karan, the president of Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.  

• Commemorations were held around the world, from the US and Europe to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and China. 
  In Germany, a coalition of approximately 20 civil society and peace organizations gathered in Berlin’s eastern district of Karlshorst to commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, highlighting the Soviet Union’s decisive role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. 
• ‘Immortal Regiment’ marches honoring World War II veterans have been held in the Cuban capital of Havana, in Hanoi (Vietnam), Pretoria (South Africa), and Paris (France). 
• A video conference with World War II veterans from Israel, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Latvia has been held at the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange as part of the Russian-British veteran project ‘The Last Soldier of World War II’.

Vladimir Putin is to have a whole marathon of bilateral meetings on May 9, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

“More than 10,” he stressed, speaking to journalists.

Zelensky has said Kiev has agreed to a ceasefire with Russia from May 9 to 11 and to a prisoner swap on a “1,000 for 1,000” basis, adding that the arrangement was reached “through US mediation.” Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said earlier that Moscow had backed US President Donald Trump’s initiative for a May 9-11 truce and a POW exchange with Kiev on the same formula.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia “does not need permission” to hold a Victory Day parade in Moscow, commenting on a ‘decree’ published on the Ukrainian presidential website that purported to “allow” a May 9 parade in the Russian capital. The document states that Kiev temporarily excludes Red Square from its plan for the use of Ukrainian weapons. “Woe to anyone who tries to mock Victory Day. That is their misfortune,” Peskov said.  

On Thursday, Zelensky appeared to issue a thinly veiled threat to Moscow, saying he would not “recommend” that foreign dignitaries attend the parade.

Putin is receiving Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the Kremlin ahead of Victory Day. The Russian president thanked his Kazakh counterpart for coming to Moscow “despite everything that is happening around this event,” saying his presence on May 9 was “the best proof” of the current level of relations between the two countries.

Fico has said he plans to discuss relations between Russia and Slovakia, including existing disagreements, at his meeting with Putin in Moscow. Speaking to reporters on arrival, he described himself as a “black sheep” among European politicians because he refuses to simply follow the line dictated by Brussels to EU member states.

Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov has said that Moscow backs US President Donald Trump’s initiative for a ceasefire and prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine from May 9 to 11. 

Speaking to RT, he said the plan, discussed in recent phone contacts with the US administration, envisions an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side during the truce, and noted that Washington has been in touch with Kiev over the initiative. Ushakov added that Russia “welcomes” the proposal, which he said builds on the recent Putin-Trump call in which the leaders recalled that their countries were allies in World War II, and stressed it was important that the move coincides with the 81st anniversary of victory over Nazism.

Putin has called Victory Day the main holiday for the peoples of Russia and Belarus while receiving Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the Kremlin. Lukashenko is in Moscow to take part in the May 9 celebrations, and the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral cooperation and the international situation.

Putin has said Moscow did not formally invite anyone to the May 9 Victory Day celebrations, but stressed that Russia is glad to welcome all who wish to attend.

Trump has claimed on Truth Social that a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine will take place on May 9-11, saying it will halt “all kinetic activity” and include a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each side. He wrote that the arrangement was made “directly” at his request and agreed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.

Trump said he hoped the move would be “the beginning of the end” of what he called the “biggest conflict since World War II,” adding that talks on ending the fighting were “getting closer and closer every day.” 

Russian officials have said hundreds of Ukrainian drones were intercepted over multiple regions since Moscow announced a two-day ceasefire for May 8–9 to coincide with Victory Day commemorations, while warning that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the events in Moscow would trigger large-scale retaliatory strikes on central Kiev.

A Soviet military grave at Vienna’s Central Cemetery has been desecrated on the eve of Victory Day, the Russian Embassy has reported. The mission called the incident an act of “deliberate vandalism” and said Austrian authorities have promised to investigate and restore the burial site.

Putin has accused the “Kiev regime” of attempting another “terrorist act,” saying Ukrainian forces targeted the Rostov Regional Air Traffic Control Center earlier on Friday. He warned that the attack “could have resulted in serious accidents,” but said this was avoided thanks to the “professional work” of Russian air traffic specialists.

Putin also recalled that in a recent phone call with US President Donald Trump they discussed how Soviet and American troops “fought Nazism together and how we were victorious in that fight.” 

“We need to ensure this great holiday is seriously respected worldwide, so that the true heroes of World War II are not forgotten,” he told the members of Russia’s Security Council during a video conference.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated members of the country’s Security Council on the upcoming Victory Day holiday. Russia “constantly supports the theme of remembrance of World War II” in its dialogue with “friends in China, India and other former anti‑Hitler coalition states,” he said at the meeting.

Wreaths thanking Soviet liberators from fascism have reportedly been laid at the Soviet war memorial in Berlin’s Tiergarten park. Among them are tributes from German political parties, including one reading: “Thank you, liberators! Against war and fascism! From the Left faction in the Bundestag.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said information about foreign guests at the upcoming Victory Day parade is being released “in a very measured and responsible way” due to security concerns. She told TASS that all those who have expressed “genuine interest” in attending – including heads of state, public figures and media representatives – will be given the opportunity, but emphasized that details will be announced later so as not to give “any reason to those who threaten us and are plotting something malicious.”

Fico has told reporters he is glad to be in Moscow for Victory Day commemorations and to have the opportunity to pay tribute to fallen Red Army soldiers. The Slovak PM said that many European countries are now “distorting history” and showing no respect for what happened in 1941-1945, expressing hope that Russians will preserve their sense of the war’s legacy.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has arrived in Moscow ahead of Victory Day commemorations, according to media reports.

Russian servicemen have held a ceremonial event at a veterans’ memorial in the Kursk Region, laying flowers and honoring those who fell fighting Nazi Germany.

Several people carrying Ukrainian flags have attempted to disrupt an ‘Immortal Regiment’ march outside the UN headquarters in Geneva, RIA Novosti has reported. Around ten Ukrainians reportedly encircled participants, waving flags, before two women clashed verbally with the marchers. Police reportedly intervened and moved the activists away.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow despite rain, as part of Victory Day commemorations.

An ‘Immortal Regiment’ march honoring World War II veterans has been held in the Cuban capital of Havana ahead of May 9 celebrations.

Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith has arrived in Moscow to take part in Victory Day celebrations and is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 9. 

According to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, the Asian leader is accompanied by a “fairly representative delegation” and will later attend a formal reception for foreign delegation heads and honored guests.

Russian Embassy staff in Lithuania and their families, together with local veterans and compatriots, have held ‘Immortal Regiment’ and ‘Garden of Memory’ events on the embassy grounds in Vilnius ahead of Victory Day, the mission has reported.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has arrived in Moscow to take part in Victory Day commemorations. During his visit, he is expected to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Previously, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland refused to allow him to fly over their countries, forcing him to fly to Russia via the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden and Finland.

A German public activist from Magdeburg has visited Russia’s Voronezh Region after years of searching for the grave of his grandfather – a Wehrmacht soldier who died there in September 1942.

Hartmut Hoppe, who heads the ‘Union for Germany and Friendship with Russia,’ said he used wartime documents and letters he received from his mother to reconstruct the story of his grandfather’s death and traced his burial site to the village of Perlevka.

Hoppe laid a wreath at his grandfather’s grave and also paid tribute to Soviet soldiers, saying he was deeply moved by the “incredibly warm” welcome he received from local residents.

“My task now is to tell people and show them that, if necessary, they too can follow the same path I took,” Hoppe said, vowing to tell his compatriots that “Russians, just as they were back in Soviet times, are their friends.”

The presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will take part in the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has announced.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko, later on Friday during a friendly lunch and will also hold bilateral meetings, Ushakov told reporters

On Saturday, all the leaders will attend the parade on Red Square and take part in a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and other celebratory events.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow’s Alexander Garden ahead of Victory Day.

Medvedev, who serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council and head of the United Russia party, was joined by senior party officials, military personnel who had served in Ukraine, and war correspondents.

”United Russia has always used all its capabilities to support veterans, as well as participants in the special military operation and members of their families. This will continue,” Medvedev wrote on social media.

Attempts to whitewash history prevent societies from learning the lessons of World War II, Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said on Friday in remarks marking the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat.

“This truth is uncomfortable. But it is the truth. Those who sugarcoat history do not learn from it,” he said.

Stocker said ignoring the past leaves societies ill-prepared for modern challenges, including migration, security, energy and economic pressures.

“The main lesson of history is not only what happened then. It is how quickly things change when too many look away,” he said. “Democracy does not collapse suddenly. It erodes gradually.”

“May 8 is not a day of complacency. It is a day of self-reflection,” he added.

Austria marks May 8 as the Festival of Joy, commemorating the end of World War II and the country’s liberation from Nazism.

A video conference with World War II veterans from Israel, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Latvia has been held at the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange as part of the Russian-British veteran project ‘The Last Soldier of World War II’.

The participants discussed the role of Soviet troops and the anti-Hitler coalition in defeating Nazism, as well as the historical legacy of the Russian Armed Forces in the fight against fascism as part of the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

The guests also spoke about their decision to come to Russia to celebrate Victory Day, their experiences, Western attempts to downplay the Soviet Union’s role in World War II, and shared their opinions on the revival of monuments to Nazi-linked figures in Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday led France’s ceremonies marking the 81st anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe.

Macron laid a wreath at the statue of General Charles de Gaulle on the Champs-Elysees before proceeding to the Arc de Triomphe, where he rekindled the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a state ceremony in Paris.

May 8, marking Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender to Allied forces in 1945, has been a public holiday in France since 1953.

The commemorations honored France’s roughly 600,000 wartime dead, resistance fighters, and Allied troops who helped liberate the country from Nazi occupation. The Paris ceremony came as Victory Day commemorations across much of Western Europe have grown increasingly subdued and marking the end of World War II has faded as a national priority.

The president of Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sinisa Karan, and the region’s former leader, Milorad Dodik, have arrived in Moscow to attend the Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9.

A 99-year Second World War veteran made a symbolic kick off before the Russian cup semi-final match between FC Krasnodar and Dynamo Moscow on Thursday, impressing the players and the crowd with his physical form.

Stepan Kuznetsov, who resides in the southern city of Krasnodar and is a fan of the local team, met with one of FC Krasnodar's biggest starts, Eduard Spertsyan, after the game, joking that “an old footballer has brought you victory” and wishing him luck in the final against Spartak Moscow.

As the world commemorates those killed in World War II, RT's Marina Kosareva examines how some political leaders are distorting the historical role of the Soviet Union and China, two nations that suffered enormous losses in the fight against Nazi Germany and the Axis powers.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has addressed his citizens on the day of liberation from Nazism with a short message on X, in which he neglected to mention the role of the Soviet Union in defeating Adolf Hitler’s forces.

“May 8, 1945, brought liberation — for millions of people, for Germany, for Europe. It reminds us never to forget what hatred can lead to. It obliges us to stand up for a free, democratic, and solidarity-based Germany in a strong Europe,” Merz wrote.

The message caused an angry reaction from some users, with one of them wondering “why should we then hate Russia and the Russians, who liberated us?” Another commentator described Berlin’s decision to ban the display of Soviet symbols on May 8 and 9 as “cowardice.”

Hundreds of people took part in an ‘Immortal Regiment’ march in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on Tuesday as part of Victory Day commemorations organized by the Russian Center for Science and Culture.

Russian compatriots, Cypriots and representatives of other nationalities carried portraits of relatives who fought in World War II through the city center. Participants marched with a 53-meter Russian flag, a Victory Banner and a St. George ribbon, while a festive concert was held near the Russian Embassy.

Organizers said Victory Day events on the island would continue in Limassol and Larnaca through May 9.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied a report by Der Spiegel, which claimed that the Russian authorities had rescinded the accreditation of foreign journalists due to cover the Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9.

The German magazine is “giving wrong information, false information. That’s how we can state it,” Peskov said when addressed by journalists on the issue.

“There were a great number of requests from foreign media outlets to attend the parade. However, the entire ceremony is somewhat scaled back this year, and consequently, the number of journalists has also been limited,” Peskov said.

However, he noted that international media organizations that “consistently report” on President Vladimir Putin’s work have all been accredited for the event.

“There hasn’t been a single incident of someone being deprived of accreditation,” the spokesman stressed.

More than 500 people took part in the ‘Immortal Regiment’ remembrance march in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Thursday ahead of Victory Day celebrations.

Russians living in Vietnam, citizens of other post-Soviet states, and Vietnamese participants carrying portraits of relatives who fought in World War II joined the procession at the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School.

Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Bezdetko said participants also honored Vietnamese volunteers who fought alongside Soviet troops in the Battle of Moscow in the winter of 1941. The event also featured concerts by students, archival photo exhibitions, traditional field kitchen food, and a tree-planting ceremony as part of the ‘Garden of Memory’ campaign.

Russian Ambassador to Poland Georgy Mikhno laid a wreath at the Mausoleum Cemetery of the Soviet Soldiers in Warsaw on Thursday, ahead of the 81st anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. The ceremony was also attended by representatives of Polish veterans’ and civic organizations as well as Russian nationals residing in the country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that Nazism is “rearing its head” again and attempting to rewrite history.

The most vivid example of that is Europe, where some politicians are calling to “repeat the experiment” of Adolf Hitler by attacking Russia, he stressed.

“What Germany is doing… is particularly astonishing. Chancellor [Friedrich] Merz has repeatedly... loudly declared that one of his primary goals is to ensure that Germany once again possesses the strongest army in Europe. Well, I think there is no need to explain the true meaning concealed within that phrase,” Lavrov said.

Vladimir Putin has sent greetings to the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, who were part of the Soviet Union during the Second World War, on the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Kremlin has said in a statement.

Putin stressed that “we acknowledge our gratitude and respect to our fathers and grandfathers who fought shoulder to shoulder... and worked tirelessly on the home front, who, through immeasurable sacrifice and hardship, brought the long-awaited victory over the Nazi invaders ever closer,” the statement read.

He also addressed the public in the former Soviet Republics of Georgia and Moldova, urging them “to preserve the memory of those harsh war years and pass on to future generations the fine traditions of friendship and mutual assistance that bind the peoples of our countries.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the “military brotherhood” between the Soviet Union, the US, and UK during the Second World War “laid the foundation for a long-term peaceful development of all humanity.” He expressed regret that the current leaders in the West “do not hold sacred” this partnership anymore.

Unlike their counterparts in the US, EU, and Britain, Russian officials “remain constantly and unwaveringly faithful to those agreements. It is not in our historical, political or cultural tradition to sign an accord only to subsequently – and with a clear conscience – do the exact opposite things,” Lavrov stressed.

Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov has laid a wreath at the Candle of Memory monument in Jerusalem, dedicated to the victims of the Nazi siege of Leningrad – now St. Petersburg – between September 1941 and January 1944.

A group of local Russian-speaking residents who attended the event sang the iconic Soviet song ‘Victory Day’ in honor of the Red Army troops who defeated Adolf Hitler’s forces.

Germany was never fully “denazified” after World War II, Former Russian President and Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev wrote in an article ahead of the 81st anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. Medvedev cited declassified Soviet intelligence materials, claiming that “instead of its implementation, the Western powers followed the path of justifying Nazi war criminals.” 

He argued that the West sought to preserve “the former leaders of Hitler’s military economy and major Nazis they needed,” adding that the post-war campaign effectively followed the principle: “hang the small ones – acquit the big ones.” Medvedev added that some Western countries still refuse to fully accept the outcome of the Second World War and the rulings of the Nuremberg Tribunal. According to him, Nazi ideology was never fully eradicated from Europe, allowing its “descendants to continue wreaking havoc.” 

His remarks come amid repeated accusations by Moscow that Western governments are attempting to rewrite the history of the war and diminish the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany.

You can read the full article here.

Ukraine has carried out 396 aerial attacks on Russian territory, including six missile strikes, since the start of the May 8-9 ceasefire announced by Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry has said in a statement.

There have also been 1,365 violations of the truce by Ukrainian forces in the conflict zone, including by fixed-wing and FPV drone attacks and shelling, it said.

The Russian military ceased all military operations after midnight on Friday on the orders of the supreme commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin, but has provided “a tit-for-tat response to ceasefire violations, launching retaliatory strikes against the firing positions of multiple rocket launch systems, artillery, and mortars. UAV сommand posts and launch sites were struck,” the statement read.

Moscow is gearing up for the Victory Day celebrations, with streets across the Russian capital decorated in national colors. Сentral avenues and public squares are draped in Russian tricolors, St. George ribbons, banners reading “Victory!” and WWII-themed installations.

Illuminated decorations and giant patriotic displays have been installed across the city, while preparations continue near Red Square ahead of the annual military parade on May 9.

Additional measures to protect Russian President Vladimir Putin have been implemented in response to Vladimir Zelensky’s threat to target the Victory Day parade with drones, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

When asked by journalists if the president’s security is being beefed up, Peskov replied, “undoubtedly.”

Putin is scheduled to attend the parade on Red Square on May 9 alongside the leaders of Slovakia, Malaysia, Belarus and other countries.

Russian authorities announced last month that the parade will be on a smaller scale than in 2025, when the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany was celebrated, and will not include tanks or other military hardware. Peskov subsequently attributed the decision to the Ukrainian “terrorist threat.”

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will be among the top officials attending the Victory Day parade on Red Square and other events in Moscow on May 9, commemorating the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Belarusian leader’s office has said in a statement.

Lukashenko will also hold talks with Vladimir Putin, who invited him to the Russian capital, discussing bilateral relations and international issues, the statement read.

The president will return home the same day to take part in Victory Day events in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, it added.

The Austrian authorities have refused to permit a tree-planting ceremony on May 9 commemorating the victims of the Mauthausen Nazi concentration camp, the organizers of the ‘Garden of Memory’ campaign have said.

The event at the Mauthausen Memorial has been preliminary rescheduled for June 22, when Russia marks the Day of Remembrance and Mourning, they told Tass. On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union without a declaration of war, instigating what Russians now remember as the Great Patriotic War.

Some 30,000 Soviet POWs and civilians died during the Second World War at the Mauthausen Nazi concentration camp, located 20 km east of the Austrian city of Linz.

More than 160 million trees have been planted in 101 countries as part of the ‘Garden of Memory’ campaign, initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2020.

“Immortal Regiment” marches and other Victory Day commemorative events are already underway in a number of countries ahead of the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Hundreds of people carrying portraits of their heroic ancestors” have marched through “Washington D.C., New York City, Geneva, Kinshasa, Tokyo, and Kuwait City,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a weekly press briefing on Thursday.

Zakharova added that Russian diplomats abroad are “congratulating veterans, paying tribute to the feat of Soviet soldiers by laying flowers at memorials and graves of those who fell liberating Europe, taking part in Immortal Regiment marches with portraits of their ancestors,” as well as organizing “the St George Ribbon and Garden of Memory campaigns.”

She said “solemn receptions will be held at Russian missions abroad with the participation of compatriots, friends of our country, and all those who remember and honour the feat of the Soviet people.”

Some 59% of people polled in Russia consider Victory Day the country’s most important holiday, according to a study published by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) earlier this week.

Eight decades after the conclusion of the world’s deadliest conflict, reflections on triumph in the Great Patriotic War “continue to unite generations, having become a shared collective memory. The vast majority of our fellow citizens are convinced that May 9 represents the greatest victory in Russia’s entire history,” the pollster noted.

Residents of the Baltic states are expected to mark Victory Day by laying flowers on empty lawns and former memorial sites due to restrictions imposed on Soviet war monuments, activist Maksim Reva told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have accelerated the removal of Soviet-era WWII monuments and memorials, arguing they symbolize Soviet occupation, while Moscow has condemned the move as an attempt to erase the Soviet role in defeating Nazi Germany.

Reva said people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania continue to visit the locations of removed WWII memorials despite official bans and police monitoring. He recalled that residents in the Estonian city of Narva last year placed flowers in the grass where a Soviet T-34 tank monument once stood, while similar commemorations took place in Riga.

The administration of US President Donald Trump had “fundamentally changed” Washington’s attitude toward Victory Day commemorations, Russia’s ambassador to the US, Aleksandr Darchiev, has said. He noting that the “Immortal Regiment” marches had been held in downtown Washington for the past two years.

Speaking at a reception at the Russian embassy in Washington marking the 81st anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II, Darchiev said representatives of the White House and the State Department attended the event. He added that during a recent phone call, the Russian and US presidents had highlighted the importance of the wartime alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Russia’s embassy in Berlin condemned the restrictions on Soviet and Russian Victory Day symbols at WWII memorials as “absurd and cynical,” arguing they were aimed at preventing descendants of Soviet soldiers and visitors from properly commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of bringing “shame” on the country over the restrictions.

Despite the ban, commemorative events, including marches by the “Immortal Regiment” – a public procession in which participants carry portraits of relatives who fought against Nazi Germany in World War II – are scheduled across Germany this week. Organizers said the Berlin procession on May 9 would proceed under the imposed limitations.

German authorities are discriminating against Russia by banning Soviet flags and St. George ribbons during Victory Day commemorations, former European Parliament member and Alternative for Germany politician Gunnar Beck has told RT.

Beck argued that Berlin had not imposed similar restrictions on symbols linked to other Allied powers that defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. “There is absolutely no basis for such discrimination against Russia,” he said, stressing that the Soviet Union had suffered the highest casualties and made the “greatest single contribution” to defeating Nazism.

Germany’s ban on Soviet and Russian Victory Day symbols at major World War II memorials in Berlin came into force on Friday and will remain in place until 10 PM on May 9. The restrictions apply to the Soviet memorials in Tiergarten, Treptower Park and Schoenholzer Heide and prohibit the display of Russian, Soviet, Belarusian flags, military uniforms and insignia, including St. George ribbons. Russian military songs and marches are also banned, although some exemptions apply to diplomats and WWII veterans.

Russia has repeatedly condemned efforts across Europe to restrict Soviet-era symbols during WWII commemorations, accusing Western governments of trying to rewrite history and downplay the USSR’s role in defeating Nazi Germany. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last month that some in the West appear to see the Soviet victory in WWII as an “accident” they now seek to “rectify.”