The president has recently threatened NATO members with withdrawals over their refusal to back the war on Iran
US President Donald Trump has indicated that moving American troops from Germany to Poland is on the table. The statement comes as the Pentagon prepares to withdraw around 5,000 soldiers from the Western European nation over the next year.
Trump first announced plans to withdraw the troops from the country earlier this month. The announc
The president has recently threatened NATO members with withdrawals over their refusal to back the war on Iran
US President Donald Trump has indicated that moving American troops from Germany to Poland is on the table. The statement comes as the Pentagon prepares to withdraw around 5,000 soldiers from the Western European nation over the next year.
Trump first announced plans to withdraw the troops from the country earlier this month. The announcement came shortly after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Washington “obviously has no strategy” in the Iran war and that the US “is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership.”
Trump has since gone on to warn that the Pentagon would be “cutting a lot further than 5,000” of the roughly 36,000 active-duty service members from Germany.
“Well Poland would like that,” Trump told journalists on Friday when asked about the prospect. “We have a great relationship with Poland. I have a great relationship with the president. ... I like him a lot, so that’s possible.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki said on Wednesday that Poland is prepared to host US troops withdrawn from Germany and that he would personally lobby Trump to redeploy them eastward. However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Monday that Warsaw should not “poach” troops from its allies.
Trump has also threatened more members of the US-led military bloc with troop withdrawals. Last week, the US president claimed he would consider removing some American soldiers stationed in Italy and Spain, stating that the former hadn’t been “of any help” to the US as the latter had been “absolutely horrible.”
Spain has denied the use of a naval base near Cadiz for strikes on Iran and closed its airspace to US aircraft involved in the campaign, with officials and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemning the war as illegal and unjust.
Italy has also denied access to its air base in Sicily, citing the need for prior authorization. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the conflict has worsened regional instability and driven up energy prices, and called Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo XIV over his opposition to the war “unacceptable.”
The US president has repeatedly called NATO a “paper tiger” after allies refused to join the US-Israeli bombing campaign in the Middle East, and has accused the bloc of failing to properly support US efforts in Ukraine.
Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are pushing global inventories toward operational ‘stress’ and ‘floor’ levels, the outlet has reported
Global oil inventories are shrinking at the fastest pace on record amid continuing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg has reported.
The outlet cited data from Morgan Stanley on Saturday showing that global oil stockpiles fell by about 4.8 million barrels per day between March 1 and April 25. The f
Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are pushing global inventories toward operational ‘stress’ and ‘floor’ levels, the outlet has reported
Global oil inventories are shrinking at the fastest pace on record amid continuing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg has reported.
The outlet cited data from Morgan Stanley on Saturday showing that global oil stockpiles fell by about 4.8 million barrels per day between March 1 and April 25. The figure surpasses previous inventory drawdown records tracked by the International Energy Agency, it added.
The Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast normally carries about one-fifth of the global oil and LNG trade. Tanker traffic through the waterway has remained heavily disrupted following the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and repeated accusations by both sides of violating a fragile ceasefire.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump warned that Washington may revive and expand “Project Freedom,” a naval operation in the Strait of Hormuz, if a peace deal is not reached with Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that military options remain on the table if diplomacy fails.
If disruptions continue, commercial oil inventories could fall to “operational stress levels” by June and reach “operational floor” levels by September – meaning stockpiles would approach the minimum volumes needed to keep pipelines, export terminals, and refineries functioning efficiently, Bloomberg wrote.
The US, which has increased crude and fuel exports to offset global supply disruptions, has also been drawing down its domestic inventories, Bloomberg noted. According to Energy Information Administration data, US fuel stockpiles recently fell to 11% below the five-year seasonal average. Despite President Trump’s claims that the US “doesn’t need” the Strait of Hormuz, the country still imports some crude oil from Persian Gulf producers.
The disruption of Gulf oil flows has reinforced the importance of Russian energy supplies despite a push by the EU to phase out imports of fossil fuels from the sanctioned country. According to media reports, Brussels has delayed plans for a permanent ban on Russian oil amid concerns that removing more crude from the market could tighten fuel supplies and push energy prices higher across the bloc.
Incidents during commemorative events were reported in Spain, Poland, Germany and other countries
Scuffles broke out in several European cities as Ukrainian nationals and pro-Kiev activists tried to disrupt Victory Day celebrations across the continent on May 9.
Russian expats in Europe and members of local civic organizations marked the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany by laying flowers at memorials to Soviet troops and participati
Incidents during commemorative events were reported in Spain, Poland, Germany and other countries
Scuffles broke out in several European cities as Ukrainian nationals and pro-Kiev activists tried to disrupt Victory Day celebrations across the continent on May 9.
Russian expats in Europe and members of local civic organizations marked the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany by laying flowers at memorials to Soviet troops and participating in ‘Immortal Regiment’ marches, carrying portraits of their relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War. The commemorative events went on despite provocations by supporters of Ukraine.
The ‘Immortal Regiment’ march in the Spanish city of Barcelona was peaceful until participants were approached by a group of protesters, who also carried an anti-fascist banner, but began chanting anti-Russian slogans. The tensions escalated into a brief physical altercation between the sides, with the provocateurs retreating before the police could intervene.
In the Polish capital, Warsaw, pro-Kiev activists attempted to disrupt the flower laying ceremony at a Soviet memorial cemetery. They set up banners with nationalist slogans and used loudspeakers to play obscene songs. Footage captured a woman being pushed after attempting to snatch the Russian flag from one of the activists. Major clashes were avoided due to a large police presence in the area.
Minor scuffles occurred outside a Soviet memorial in Berlin’s Treptower Park after protesters carrying Ukrainian flags arrived on the scene, with at least two people being arrested. The German police also detained a number of people across the city for violating a ban on displaying Russian and Soviet symbols.
Members of the Ukrainian community wrapped in national flags also attempted to interfere with Victory Day celebrations in the Swiss city of Geneva, shouting nationalist slogans and singing Ukrainian songs.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this week that “there were, there are and there will be provocations” during commemorative events, but that Moscow was ready for them. In a separate interview with RIA Novosti, Zakharova suggested that in Europe “many are being paid” to display hatred towards Russia.
Around 27 million Soviet citizens lost their lives during the Second World War, with Moscow repeatedly accusing the US and EU of distorting historical truth and trying to belittle the key role of the USSR in the victory against Nazi Germany.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has urged dialogue with Moscow after attending its Victory Day commemorations
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has pushed back against what he described as a “new Iron Curtain” between the EU and Russia, calling for the restoration of pragmatic dialogue with Moscow instead of continuing “hatred.”
Fico, who has described himself as one of the EU’s “black sheep” over his stance on Russia, was the only sitting EU l
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has urged dialogue with Moscow after attending its Victory Day commemorations
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has pushed back against what he described as a “new Iron Curtain” between the EU and Russia, calling for the restoration of pragmatic dialogue with Moscow instead of continuing “hatred.”
Fico, who has described himself as one of the EU’s “black sheep” over his stance on Russia, was the only sitting EU leader to travel to Moscow for Victory Day celebrations on May 9 and to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, drawing harsh criticism from Brussels and several member states.
In a video statement posted on Facebook on Saturday, Fico accused the EU of downplaying the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany. Speaking aboard the Slovak government jet while returning from Moscow, he warned that Brussels’ Russia policy was damaging the bloc’s competitiveness and energy security.
He also shared footage of his visit.
“I reject a new Iron Curtain between the European Union and Russia. We are interested in standard, friendly, and mutually beneficial relations with this world power,” Fico said.
He argued that the EU was making a “huge mistake” by relying on sanctions and military support for Ukraine instead of direct political dialogue with Moscow.
He said his talks in the Kremlin focused heavily on energy cooperation, accusing the EU of pursuing an “ideological” policy of cutting off Russian energy supplies at the expense of European competitiveness.
“We cannot, just out of hatred for Russia, replace one energy dependence with another – this time American,” he argued. According to energy data, the US supplied more than half of the bloc’s liquefied natural gas imports in 2025.
The European Commission has reportedly removed a proposal to fully phase out Russian oil imports from its near-term agenda amid concerns that the Iran war and continuing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could further raise fuel prices and destabilize European energy supplies.
Members of the community attempted to storm a recruitment center after a local man was seized by the press gang
Ukrainian enlistment officers have reportedly opened fire at members of the Roma community who were attempting to storm a recruitment center in Transcarpathia, western Ukraine.
The incident occurred in the village of Mezhgorye on Saturday after a press gang seized a local man, according to Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Glagola. Around 30
Members of the community attempted to storm a recruitment center after a local man was seized by the press gang
Ukrainian enlistment officers have reportedly opened fire at members of the Roma community who were attempting to storm a recruitment center in Transcarpathia, western Ukraine.
The incident occurred in the village of Mezhgorye on Saturday after a press gang seized a local man, according to Ukrainian journalist Vitaly Glagola. Around 30 people reportedly gathered outside the enlistment office and tried to force their way inside by hurling objects and breaking down doors.
The journalist claimed that several shots were fired using a pistol and a Kalashnikov rifle. He added that officials initially denied the shooting, saying that only two blank rounds had been fired, which contradicted footage in which “at least four shots” could be heard.
“Now even the testimony of the TCC employees themselves does not match,” Glagola wrote on Telegram.
The confrontation was later confirmed by the Regional Territorial Recruitment Center and Social Support office, which acknowledged that a group had attempted to storm the military facility, “ignoring the lawful demands of military personnel.”
The “threat was localized, and the attack was repelled,” the office added in a statement on social media.
Faced with mounting losses, widespread desertion, and a shortage of willing recruits in the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian recruitment squads have increasingly resorted to coercion and brute force to fill the ranks.
The practice, commonly known as “busification,” involves military-age men being seized on the streets, at workplaces, and in residential areas before being taken to enlistment centers against their will and reportedly dispatched to the front after only cursory training.
The incident resulted in a fire on the plane and the evacuation of passengers
A Frontier Airlines flight from Denver International Airport had to be aborted after the jet struck and killed an unknown person on the runway during takeoff, local officials have said.
The trespasser was hit by the plane two minutes after jumping the perimeter fence late on Friday, according to the airport. Videos from the scene captured the damaged engine blades, sugg
The incident resulted in a fire on the plane and the evacuation of passengers
A Frontier Airlines flight from Denver International Airport had to be aborted after the jet struck and killed an unknown person on the runway during takeoff, local officials have said.
The trespasser was hit by the plane two minutes after jumping the perimeter fence late on Friday, according to the airport. Videos from the scene captured the damaged engine blades, suggesting that the trespasser had been sucked into the turbine.
”We’re stopping on the runway,” the pilot told the control tower. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire… An individual was walking across the runway.”
An air traffic controller was heard warning his colleagues that the runway was closed after the incident, saying: “I do have limbs on the runway… I’ve got what appears to be a deceased person on the runway.” One of the first responders was also heard telling control that “there does appear to be human remains on the runway.”
The collision resulted in an engine fire and forced an evacuation of passengers via slides as smoke filled the cabin of the narrow-body Airbus A321 aircraft. Twelve of the 224 passengers on board suffered minor injuries in the incident, with five of them requiring hospitalization.
INCRÍVEL:::: IMAGENS FORTES:::: Pra você entender o que aconteceu com o voo da Frontier Airlines em Denver ontem à noite.
Um homem pulou a cerca do aeroporto às 23h17.
Às 23h19 — apenas 2 minutos depois — ele foi atingido por um Airbus A321 totalmente carregado, em velocidade… pic.twitter.com/oX8VzUAihr
The passengers were able to film the exact moment of the collision and the evacuation process. One of the witnesses told KUSA-TV that the jet lifted off the ground for a split second, but landed again after hitting something.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman hit back, saying Europe would be a “concentration camp” without the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has hit back at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after he criticized Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico for attending Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
Merz said he “deeply regretted” Fico’s trip and claimed it did not reflect the EU’s “common view,” spe
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman hit back, saying Europe would be a “concentration camp” without the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has hit back at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after he criticized Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico for attending Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
Merz said he “deeply regretted” Fico’s trip and claimed it did not reflect the EU’s “common view,” speaking at a press conference in Stockholm on Saturday.
“We will talk with him about this day in Moscow today,” he said. “We are celebrating Europe Day here in Stockholm today. And this is something completely different.”
When asked to comment on Merz’s remarks, Zakharova argued that modern Europe would not exist without the Soviet sacrifice that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
“There would be no Europe Day without the victory of the Soviet people. There would only be one vast concentration camp with gas chambers,” she said in an interview with RIA Novosti later the same day.
The spokeswoman added that despite numerous attempts “to save them,” EU nations “always reorganize themselves into a concentration camp.”
Fico, who has long opposed Brussels’ stance toward Moscow, including military aid to Kiev and anti-Russian sanctions, was the only EU leader to attend the Victory Day commemorations in person this year.
Despite Lithuania and Latvia refusing his aircraft access to their airspace, the Slovak leader insisted he would still travel to Russia, saying the Baltic states would not prevent him from paying tribute to those who liberated Slovakia from Nazi occupation.
After the official part of the event, Fico held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several senior officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak, and presidential aide Yury Ushakov.
Putin praised Fico’s “unwavering stance on preserving the historical truth about the events of the Second World War and the Red Army’s role in liberating Europe from Nazism,” and highlighted the contribution of Slovak resistance fighters to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The Russian president also thanked Slovakia for preserving Soviet war memorials and burial sites, noting that the official opening of a Red Army military cemetery in Michalovce is expected soon.
The procession carried photos of relatives who fought Nazi Germany in WWII
Clashes broke out in the Spanish city of Barcelona after several protesters attempted to disrupt a Victory Day commemoration marking the 81st anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat.
Victory Day is celebrated annually in Russia and most former Soviet republics on May 9 with military parades and Immortal Regiment marches, during which participants carry photographs of relative
The procession carried photos of relatives who fought Nazi Germany in WWII
Clashes broke out in the Spanish city of Barcelona after several protesters attempted to disrupt a Victory Day commemoration marking the 81st anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat.
Victory Day is celebrated annually in Russia and most former Soviet republics on May 9 with military parades and Immortal Regiment marches, during which participants carry photographs of relatives who fought in World War II.
Footage filmed in Barcelona on Saturday showed people carrying Russian and Soviet flags as they peacefully gathered for the event before a counter-protester carrying a black-and-white banner approached the crowd, shouting derogatory slogans.
The provocation escalated into a physical altercation, after which the protesters fled before police intervened. The procession later continued through the city, with patriotic songs playing in the background.
“It is a very important day for our people. It is a day of remembrance for our grandparents who died during World War II,” one participant said.
“This day means a lot – survival for us Slavs, Russians, Ukrainians, and most people of the world,” another added.
The Immortal Regiment was first held in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012 and quickly spread across Russia and other countries. The initiative has since become popular among Russian-speaking communities living abroad.
This year, commemorative events took place in several countries, including India, Bangladesh, Kuwait, China, Japan, South Korea, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, the US, and multiple cities across the EU.
In Geneva, members of the Ukrainian community wrapped in national flags attempted to interfere with the celebration by shouting nationalist slogans and singing Ukrainian songs near the closing stages of the event.
A similar incident took place in Amsterdam during an Immortal Regiment march on May 2, when several Ukrainian nationals attempted to disrupt the procession by shouting anti-Russian slogans while carrying placards splashed with red paint.
Around 27 million Soviet citizens died during World War II, one of the highest death tolls suffered by any nation in the conflict. Moscow has repeatedly accused the US and EU member states of distorting historical truth and belittling the crucial role of the USSR.
The IDF reportedly attacked and killed Iraqi troops who discovered the outpost
Israel secretly built a military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran and even launched strikes on Iraqi troops who nearly discovered it, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
The clandestine base was set up shortly before the US and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran in lat
The IDF reportedly attacked and killed Iraqi troops who discovered the outpost
Israel secretly built a military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran and even launched strikes on Iraqi troops who nearly discovered it, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
The clandestine base was set up shortly before the US and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran in late February, according to the report.
The US was reportedly aware of the installation, which housed Israeli special forces, served as a logistics hub for the Israeli Air Force, and hosted search-and-rescue teams in case Israeli pilots were shot down.
The outpost was nearly exposed in early March after a local shepherd noticed “unusual military activity,” including helicopter flights, and alerted authorities. Iraqi soldiers then moved to investigate the site but came under heavy fire. The attack left one Iraqi soldier dead and two others wounded.
Baghdad initially blamed Washington after security forces found evidence that foreign military personnel had been operating in the area.
“It appears there was a certain force on the ground before the strike, supported from the air, operating beyond the capabilities of our units,” Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, told Iraqi state media after the March attack. “This reckless operation was carried out without coordination or approval.”
The base reportedly helped Israel fight a long-range air war against Iran, whose territory lies over 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from Israel.
Israeli aircraft carried out thousands of strikes during the five-week campaign, while the Iraqi desert outpost gave Israeli teams a forward position closer to the battlefield.
The IDF did not comment on the latest report, which adds to growing scrutiny of how Israel’s confrontation with Iran has expanded into a broader regional conflict, pulling the US deeper into hostilities.
Former US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent, who resigned in protest in March, has accused Israel of driving Washington into a war despite US intelligence assessments that Tehran was not actively building a nuclear weapon.
Kent claimed that US agencies had warned Iran would retaliate by targeting American bases and attempting to shut down the Strait of Hormuz if attacked. He argued that the Israeli narrative about the Iranian threat ultimately “won the argument” in Washington, forcing the US into the conflict.
Trump administration officials have denied that Israel dragged Washington into the war. US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this week that President Donald Trump acted based on “American interests” and his “America First” policy, dismissing the idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pulled the US into the conflict as a “false premise.”
The passengers of the MV Hondius are set to be medically assessed and evacuated under strict protocols after the vessel reaches Tenerife, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said
The arrival of the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship off Spain’s Tenerife poses little risk of contagion to local residents, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.
The Dutch-flagged Atlantic liner, carrying 147 passengers and
The passengers of the MV Hondius are set to be medically assessed and evacuated under strict protocols after the vessel reaches Tenerife, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said
The arrival of the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship off Spain’s Tenerife poses little risk of contagion to local residents, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.
The Dutch-flagged Atlantic liner, carrying 147 passengers and crew from 23 countries, suffered an outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus, a rare pathogen typically spread through contact with infected rodent droppings, urine, or saliva.
The distressed vessel, dubbed the “plague ship” by some media, departed from Argentina for Cape Verde on April 1. The first victim, a 70-year-old Dutch man, began showing signs of illness on April 6 and died on April 11. His 69-year-old wife accompanied his body to South Africa, where she later also succumbed to the disease in a Johannesburg hospital on April 26. A third passenger, a German woman, died from the illness on May 2.
Unlike most hantaviruses, the Andes strain is known to be capable of limited human-to-human transmission through close contact with an infected person. There is no known cure for the disease caused by the virus, with symptomatic treatment being the only recourse.
However, Ghebreyesus assured Tenerife residents that hantavirus, while “serious,... is not another COVID.”
“The risk to you, living your daily life in Tenerife, is low. This is the WHO’s assessment, and we do not make it lightly,” he wrote in a letter on Saturday.
There are “no symptomatic passengers on board” the MV Hondius at present, according to Ghebreyesus, with a WHO expert monitoring the situation on the ship. The WHO has reported eight cases linked to the vessel, including three deaths, with six confirmed as hantavirus and two still considered suspected. Authorities are also trying to trace more than two dozen people who disembarked before the outbreak was confirmed.
The WHO director-general added that the passengers “will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries.”
Ghebreyesus arrived on the Spanish island to personally oversee the operation and again reassured residents that the risk was low during a short briefing alongside Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia.
Face-to-face negotiations can take place, but only after a final long-term peace agreement is fully prepared, the Russian president has stressed
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that a meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky could take place “anywhere,” including in a third country, but only after a final long-term peace agreement is fully prepared and ready for signing. “The Ukrainian side and Mr. Zelensky, they are ready to have a p
Face-to-face negotiations can take place, but only after a final long-term peace agreement is fully prepared, the Russian president has stressed
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that a meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky could take place “anywhere,” including in a third country, but only after a final long-term peace agreement is fully prepared and ready for signing.
“The Ukrainian side and Mr. Zelensky, they are ready to have a personal meeting... We have never refused,” Putin said during a press conference after Victory Day celebrations on May 9. “We can meet in the third country as well, but only after there is an ultimate agreement regarding a peace deal that must be a long-term deal.”
He stressed that the meeting should be the “final thing,” the signing ceremony, and not turn into negotiations. Recalling the Minsk Accords experience, Putin noted: “We can speak hours, day and night and it would yield no results. We need specialists to take care of that... then we can meet, we can sign.”
During the same May 9 briefing, Putin declared that the Ukraine conflict “is heading towards the end.”
These remarks came one day after US President Donald Trump expressed hope that the ceasefire declared by Moscow on May 8 could lead to the fighting wrapping up soon.
Last December, Putin reiterated that Russia seeks a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict provided its root causes are eliminated.
The celebrations in Ivangorod drew crowds of spectators in neighboring Narva, who gathered on the embankment of the river dividing the cities
Crowds of people gathered in the Estonian city of Narva to watch the Victory Day concert and fireworks display held in Russia’s Ivangorod, situated just across the border.
The Estonian authorities banned Victory Day celebrations on May 9, penalizing anyone seen with Soviet or Russian-themed symbols, such as
The celebrations in Ivangorod drew crowds of spectators in neighboring Narva, who gathered on the embankment of the river dividing the cities
Crowds of people gathered in the Estonian city of Narva to watch the Victory Day concert and fireworks display held in Russia’s Ivangorod, situated just across the border.
The Estonian authorities banned Victory Day celebrations on May 9, penalizing anyone seen with Soviet or Russian-themed symbols, such as the Ribbon of Saint George.
One of the spectators on the Estonian side of the Narva river told RT on Sunday that compared to previous years, even more people had come to the embankment to see the event. The person said that Victory Day “has always been the most important holiday for us, no matter what.”
The person added that his boss at work had objected to him going to watch the Victory Day concert, but he went anyway. He explained to RT that his own relatives had fought against Nazi Germany, adding that the “desire to pay homage to our heroes beats fear of any potential punishment” from the Estonian authorities.
As the celebrations unfolded across the river, some Narva residents lit lanterns in greeting to their neighbors in Ivangorod, according to footage sent to RT by a subscriber. She said the gesture has become a local tradition dating back to the coronavirus pandemic, when border crossings became difficult.
The municipal authorities in Ivangorod told TASS that people across the border were able to watch the event, named ‘The Riverbanks of Victory’ thanks to a large screen mounted on the Russian side of the river. Similar concerts have been held in Ivangorod since 2023.
According to the news agency, citing Ivangorod and Narva residents, many people in Estonia spent several hours in lines at the border just to watch the celebrations on the Russian side.
Aleksandr Drozdenko, the governor of Leningrad Region, where Ivangorod is located, previously told TASS that it was particularly important to the regional authorities that the “concert is also being heard on the other side of the Narva River.”
“We know that there are people there, to whom Victory Day is just as important, and they are waiting for this day,” the Russian official said. According to Drozdenko, “on both riverbanks, people are singing our common songs familiar from childhood,” in what he described as “people’s karaoke.”
The celebration culminated in a bright fireworks display over Ivangorod, watched from both banks of the river.
Meanwhile, the Estonian police reported that at least 20 administrative cases related to Victory Day celebrations were initiated on Sunday, as reported by Delfi media outlet. Most of those involved displays of banned symbols.
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