Victory Day: 81st anniversary of defeat of Nazi Germany commemorated worldwide

Countries around the world are marking the 81st anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II on May 8 and 9, paying tribute to the millions who gave their lives to defeat the Third Reich.

The Soviet Union bore the brunt of the war, losing an estimated 27 million people in what is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Victory Day remains one of the country’s most important national holidays.

In Russia, Victory Day is celebrated on May 9 because Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender was signed late on May 8 in Berlin – making it after midnight in Moscow. The annual military parade is set to take place in Red Square on Friday.

Commemorations in several Western European countries, including Germany, have been overshadowed by restrictions on Soviet and Russian symbols such as flags and St. George ribbons, introduced after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has condemned the bans as an attempt to erase the memory of the role of the USSR in defeating Nazism.

Despite the restrictions, people across Europe are continuing to lay flowers at Soviet war memorials and take part in ‘Immortal Regiment’ marches, carrying portraits of relatives who fought the Nazis during the deadliest conflict in human history.

Russia’s Defense Ministry earlier announced a two-day ceasefire for May 8-9 to coincide with the Victory Day commemorations and urged Ukraine to observe it as well. The ministry said on Friday that more than 260 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted over Russian territory overnight.

• 08 May 2026

  12:23 GMT

  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.

  🇷🇺 A veteran who never grows old in spirit:99‑year‑old Stepan Stepanovich Kuznetsov, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, kicked off the football match Krasnodar — Dynamo yesterday pic.twitter.com/n6Yd2Z05zi

  — Russian Core (@Russian__core) May 8, 2026

• 11:40 GMT

  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.”

• 11:28 GMT

  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.

• 11:02 GMT

  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.

• 10:42 GMT

  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.

• 10:21 GMT

  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.

• 10:06 GMT

  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.

• 09:32 GMT

  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.”

• 09:22 GMT

  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.

• 08:40 GMT

  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.