Wreaths laid at tomb of Russian soldiers

JAGODINA - Delegations of the Serbian-Russian humanitarian centre in Nis and Emerikon, an agency for humanitarian demining in Paracin, on Sunday laid wreaths and flowers at a memorial tomb in Jagodina where 1,170 Red Army soldiers were buried during the liberation of that part of Serbia in World War II.

Marking June 22, 1941 and the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany, the centre's coordinator Viktor Viktorovich Safyanov said that the Soviet army won tough battles and that, after liberating Russia, it went on to liberate Europe from fascism.

Many Russian soldiers died during the liberation of Serbia, bringing freedom to Serbia and Europe, he said.

This is a sad day for the entire region of the former Soviet Union, because the Second Fatherland War started on June 22, and the fascist occupiers marched towards Russia, he said.

Thank you for preserving and cherishing the memory of the Russian soldiers, Safyanov said, adding that he is very pleased that the ceremony is attended by young people.

Jagodina deputy mayor Snezana Vukasinovic laid wreaths at the tomb on behalf of the city assembly, while NGOs cherishing the tradition of anti-fascism laid red roses.

Operation Barbarossa marked the start of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.

Historical figures say that the operation involved 3,200,000 German, Italian, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovakian and Croatian soldiers fighting for the Third Reich against 2,600,000 Soviet soldiers.

The failure of Operation Barbarossa resulted in the defeat of the Third Reich.

Photo Tanjug, Dusan Anicic