Move FM Global News

MOSCOW, Russia – Russia came to a standstill on Friday as the nation commemorated its victory over Nazi Germany in the second World War.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe that saw the death of more than sixty million people, military parades were held across Russia including in the capital, Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin was joined by more than two dozen world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The leaders of Brazil, Egypt, Slovakia, Serbia, and Uzbekistan were also in attendance. U.S.  Ambassador Lynne Tracy, based in Moscow was invited but did not attend. 

The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin was among the top three allied countries, alongside Britain and the United States, responsible for the ending of the war in Europe. 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday proclaimed 8 May, the date Germany surrenered in 1945, as Victory Day. “Our nation proudly commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Allied Powers’ triumph over national socialism and fascism, and the end of World War II in Europe,” he said. “One of the most epic victories for forces of freedom in the history of the world. On this Victory Day for World War II, we celebrate the unmatched might, strength, and power of the American Armed Forces, and we commit to protecting our sacred birthright of liberty against all threats, foreign and domestic.”

“After nearly 4 years of the darkest and bloodiest chapters ever recorded in human history, more than 250,000 Americans lost their lives in the fight against the Nazi regime,” the U.S president said. 

The Soviet Union’s loss of human life in contrast exceeded twenty million people.

Neither the U.S. or Russia made mention of the other in their Victory Day celebrations, each claiming the war would not have been won without their involvement.