Updated 8 May, 2026 06:53
People carry photographs of planet War II soldiers during the triumph Day celebration, commemorating the 74th anniversary of the triumph over Nazi Germany in planet War II, in Paris, France. © Sputnik / Kristina Afanasyeva
Countries around the planet celebrate on 8 and 9 May 81st anniversary of the triumph over Nazi Germany in planet War II, paying tribute to millions of people who gave their lives to defeat the 3rd Reich.
The russian Union took on the main burden of war, losing, according to estimates, 27 million people in a conflict known in Russia as the large Patriotic War. triumph Day remains 1 of the most crucial state holidays in this country.
In Russia, triumph Day is celebrated on 9 May, due to the fact that unconditional Nazi surrender Germany was signed late in the evening on 8 May in Berlin – which in Moscow meant after midnight. The yearly military parade is scheduled to take place on Friday in Red Square.
Celebrations commemorating in respective Western European countries, including Germany, were overshadowed by restrictions on russian and Russian symbols, specified as St George's flags or ribbons, introduced after the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Moscow condemned these prohibitions, recognizing them as an effort to erase the memory of the USSR's function in defeating Nazism.
Despite the restrictions introduced, people throughout Europe proceed to lay flowers under russian war memorials and participate in marches "Immortal Regiment", carrying portraits of relatives who fought the Nazis during the most bloody conflict in human history.
The Russian Ministry of Defence had previously announced a two-day ceasefire on 8–9 May, coincident with the triumph Day celebration, and called on Ukraine to respect it.
On Friday, the ministry reported that over 260 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Russia overnight. 8 May 2026.
08:40 GMT
Russia's Ambassador to Israel, Anatoli Viktorov, laid a wreath at the memorial of the “Sun of Memory” in Jerusalem, dedicated to the victims of the Nazi siege of Leningrad – now Saint Petersburg – which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944.
A group of local Russian-speaking residents present at the ceremony sang the iconic russian song “Winning Day” in honor of the Red Army troops who defeated Adolf Hitler's forces.
08:29 GMT
Germany after planet War II has never been full ‘densified’ – wrote erstwhile Russian president and Vice-President of the Russian Federation safety Council, Dmitri Medvedev in his article. The text was published on the eve of the 81st anniversary of the triumph over Nazi Germany. Medvedev cited the declassified materials of russian intelligence, claiming that "instead of this process, Western powers have chosen the way to justify Nazi war criminals".
He argued that the West sought to preserve “old Nazi war management leaders and key Nazis he needed”, adding that the post-war run in practice pursued the rule of:
"to hang small—to acquit the great."
Medvedev added that any western countries inactive refuse to full accept the results of planet War II and the judgments of the Nuremberg Court. In his opinion, the Nazi ideology has never been full eradicated from Europe, allowing it to "to the descendants proceed to wreak havoc."
His remarks appear in the context of Moscow's repeated accusations that Western governments effort to rewrite the past of the war and diminish the function of the russian Union in defeating Nazi Germany.
The full content of the interview can be read here.
08:22 GMT
Ukraine has carried out 396 air strikes in Russia—including six rocket strikes—since the entry into force of the ceasefire on 8-9 May, announced by Moscow; it reported this in a message by the Russian Ministry of Defence.
As reported in the conflict zone, there were besides 1365 cases of truce breach by Ukrainian forces, including FPV aircraft and drone attacks and artillery shelling.
The Russian armed forces halted all military action after midnight on Friday, at the command of the Chief Leader – president Vladimir Putin – but granted ‘symmetric consequence to ceasefire violations by conducting retaliatory blows to fire stations of multi-guided rocket launchers, artillery and mortars. Unmanned aircraft take-off stations and take-off sites were besides hit’ – proclaims a statement.
ARCHIVAL PHOTO: A Russian soldier targeting with an anti-dron weapon. © Sputnik / Kirill Kallinikov
07:22 GMT
In consequence to Volodymyr Zelenski's threat of attacking the triumph Day parade with drones, additional measures were implemented to defend Russian president Vladimir Putin," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Pieskov.
When asked by journalists whether the President's safety measures were reinforced, Peskov replied, “Unquestionably”.
Putin is scheduled to take part in the parade on Red Square on 9 May, accompanying the leaders of Slovakia, Malaysia, Belarus and another countries.
Last month, the Russian authorities announced that this year's parade would take place on a smaller scale than in 2025 – erstwhile the 80th anniversary of the triumph over Nazi Germany was celebrated – and would not include the participation of tanks or another military equipment. Mr Peskov then explained that this decision was dictated by the Ukrainian ‘terrorist threat’.
07:02 GMT
President of Belarus Aleksander Lukashenka will be among the highest-ranking officials participating in the Day of triumph in Red Square and in another events in Moscow on 9 May, commemorating the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany," said the Belarusian leader in a statement.
According to the statement, Lukashenko will besides hold talks with Vladimir Putin – who invited him to the Russian capital – discussing bilateral relations and global matters.
The president will return to the country on the same day to participate in the triumph Day celebrations in the Belarusian capital – Minsk – was added in the release.
06:45 GMT
The Austrian authorities refused to give their consent to the tree planting ceremony planned for 9 May to commemorate the victims of the Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen – the organizers of the run “The Garden of Memory” informed.
According to the TASS agency, the event at Mauthausen Memorial Site was initially postponed to 22 June – the day on which Russia celebrates Memorial Day and Żad. On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the russian Union without declaring war, starting a conflict that the Russians now mention as the large Patriotic War.
During planet War II, about 30,000 russian prisoners of war and civilians were killed in the Nazi Mauthausen concentration camp, located 20 km east of the Austrian city of Linz. Over 160 million trees were planted in 101 countries as part of the run ‘The Memorial Garden’, initiated by Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2020.
ARCHIVEAL PHOTO: erstwhile Nazi Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. © Sputnik / Vladimir Fedorenko
06:38 GMT
According to the Russian Ministry of abroad Affairs, marches are already underway in many countries “Immortal Regiment’ and another events commemorating triumph Day, preceding the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Nazi German defeat.
“Hundreds of people carrying portraits of their heroic ancestors”, marched through "Washington, fresh York, Geneva, Kinshasa, Tokyo and Kuwait" said MFA spokesperson Maria Zacharowa during the weekly press briefing on Thursday.
Zacharova added that Russian diplomats abroad “They want veterans, pay tribute to the heroic acts of russian soldiers, laying flowers under the memorials and graves of those who have fallen, liberating Europe, and taking part in the march “Immortal Regiment”, as well as organise ‘actions of St George's Ribbon and Memorial Garden’.
She besides stated that “in Russian diplomatic missions abroad there will be solemn receptions attended by fellow countrymen, friends of our country and all those who remember and worship the heroic deeds of the russian people.”
06:04 GMT
According to a survey published earlier this week by the Russian Public Opinion investigation Centre (WCIOM), about 59% of those surveyed in Russia consider triumph Day to be the most crucial vacation in the country.
Eight decades after the end of the world's most bloody conflict, reflection on the triumph in the large Patriotic War “still unite generations, becoming a collective memory. The vast majority of our fellow citizens are convinced that 9 May is the biggest triumph in Russia's history" – noted the poll authors.
The monument “Mother Homeland Calls” is lit by the colours of the Russian flag during the show “Light of the large Victory” held in the memorial complex in Kurhana Mamaja on the eve of triumph Day – a vacation commemorating the 81st anniversary of the triumph over Nazi Germany in planet War II – in Volgograd, Russia. © Sputnik / Kirill Braga
05:32 GMT
As reported by RIA Nowosti Activist Maxim Reva on Thursday, residents of the Baltic States intend to celebrate triumph Day, laying flowers on empty lawns and in places where there were formerly monuments to commemorate the war, due to restrictions imposed on russian war monuments.
Since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022 Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania has accelerated the process of removing monuments and memorial sites from russian times, arguing that they symbolize russian occupation;
Reva stated that residents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are inactive visiting places from which memorials commemorating planet War II have been removed – despite authoritative bans and police supervision. He recalled that last year the people of Estonian Narva laid flowers on the lawn, at the site where the monument of the russian T-34 tank erstwhile stood; akin ceremonies were besides held in Riga.
05:01 GMT
As Russia's US Ambassador Alexander Darchiev stated, US president Donald Trump's administration "foundedly changed" Washington's attitude to celebrate triumph Day. The diplomat noted that during the last 2 years in the centre of Washington, D.C., there were marches of the "Immortal Regiment".
Speaking at a organization at the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., held on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the russian Union's triumph in planet War II, Darchiev reported that the event was attended by representatives of the White home and the State Department.
He besides added that during the fresh telephone conversation the Presidents of Russia and the United States stressed the importance of the alliance that the russian Union and the United States had in the war.
Moscow, however, condemned these actions, recognizing them as an effort to erase the function of the russian Union in defeating Nazi Germany.
People taking part in the “Immortal Regiment” march in Washington. © Russian Embassy in the USA
Translated by Google Translator
source: https://www.rt.com/news/639611-defeat-of-nazi-germany-celebrated-worldwide/
