Russian anthem played as Serbia, torn between EU and Moscow, marks WWII end

Record ID: 1672025

  • Title: Russian anthem played as Serbia, torn between EU and Moscow, marks WWII end
  • Date: 9th May 2022
  • Summary: BELGRADE, SERBIA (MAY 9, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE MARCHING IN BELGRADE, CARRYING PHOTOS OF ANCESTORS WHO TOOK PART IN WW2, CARRYING RUSSIAN FLAGS, SHOUTING ‘HURRAY!’ VARIOUS OF RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO SERBIA, ALEXANDER BOTSAN-KHARCHENKO WITH EMBASSY EMPLOYEES VARIOUS OF MAN IN TRADITIONAL SERBIAN COSTUME FROM ETHNICALLY SERB AREA IN CROATIA, HOLDING PHOTOGRAPH O
  • Embargoed: 23rd May 2022 12:54
  • Keywords: WWII memorial relatives rememberence world war two ww2
  • Location: BELGRADE, SERBIA
  • City: BELGRADE, SERBIA
  • Country: Serbia
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA001670109052022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Russian national anthem was played in Belgrade on Monday (May 9) as hundreds of Serbians, including senior government officials, assembled for Victory Day, showing the political strain of a country long aligned with Moscow but now trying to join the EU.
    At a march to pay homage to Serbian and Soviet troops who died in World War Two, one participant held a giant letter Z - a symbol of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - and another brought a life-size cardboard cut-out photo of President Vladimir Putin.
    Serbia, which was bombed by NATO two decades ago and has had close cultural ties with Russia for centuries, has fended off pressure to take sides since Russia invaded Ukraine, including calls from the West that it join sanctions against Moscow.
    Several hundred people holding pictures of ancestors who fought in World War Two gathered in the late morning on Monday in a city park to march to a cemetery.
    "I believe it is critical, particularly at this moment, that people remember the sacrifices made on that Victory Day," said participant Marija Deuric, whose grandfather was a general during the war.
    (Production Branko Filipovic, Hedy Beloucif)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register