Overview

• The German Bundestag and Foreign Ministry have upheld their decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian diplomats from official WWII anniversary events to prevent political exploitation of the ceremonies.
• The Russian Embassy criticized the exclusion as 'highly regrettable,' emphasizing the significance of May 8 as a sacred day for the former Soviet Union.
• The Sachsenhausen memorial will allow a separate, silent commemoration for the Russian delegation on April 28, while excluding them from the main event on May 4.
• Berlin's Treptow-Köpenick district announced it will not enforce the exclusion, citing the Soviet Union's historical role in defeating Nazism.
• German politician Sahra Wagenknecht has publicly condemned the exclusion as harmful to Germany's reputation and dismissive of the Soviet Union's wartime sacrifices.