(VOVworld) – On Monday Russia held military parades in 26 cities to celebrate their victory over fascism. The parades, with the biggest held at Red Square in Moscow, included approximately 40,000 military servicemen and 800 vehicles. On Sunday, President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Georgia, and Ukraine. He said V-Day symbolizes solidarity between nations and the heroism of those who sacrificed their lives to save their homeland and the world from fascism.

French soldiers commemorated unknown soldiers at a ceremony in Paris to mark 71st anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

On Sunday, Brazil’s Minister of Defense, Aldo Rebelo, said the people of the world were grateful to Soviet and Russian soldiers for their contribution to the victory against fascism. The Slovakian President Andrej Kiska laid a wreath at the Monument for the Soviet Red Army in Sered city and lit candles to commemorate the martyrs’ great sacrifice. On the same day, French President Francois Hollande laid a wreath at the Charles de Gaulle Monument to mark the event.