Army parade to celebrate 80th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from Nazi invaders

It is necessary to do everything in order to carry the historic memory of Belarusians through centuries. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement during an army parade held on 3 July to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from Nazi invaders.

The head of state reminded that the last battles for the capital city of Belarus fell silent exactly 80 years ago, on 3 July 1944.

“But those volleys still echo in our historic memory. And we know that we should do everything to carry this memory through centuries. It is full of pain and suffering, patience and courage, heroic deeds, and the triumph of justice. It contains hundreds of thousands of names of heroes. It contains the strength of the nation of descendants of the winners,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.

The President stressed that the future of many nations was decided in the Belarusian land back then.

“Fascists, who had been recruited from entire Europe, and warriors of the great multiethnic Red Army, clashed in that fateful battle. Head-on. It was a battle for freedom and the future of our nation, for freedom and the future of the nations of the entire continent. It was a confident step towards the Great Victory. As we celebrate Independence Day on 3 July, we pay tribute to the memory of Soviet soldiers, who fought to the bitter end in Brest Fortress, outside Minsk and Mogilev, Polotsk and Gomel, Orsha and Bykhov. At other countless big and small military lines on the way to the capital city of our motherland – Moscow,” the Belarusian leader said.

“We admire the strength of the will of Soviet women, the elderly and kids, who fought on par with men and worked at the homefront in order to provide for the front troops. We bow to the cherished memory of civilian victims and fallen heroes. Those are millions of people. A terrible price for our freedom and independence,” the head of state noted. “We admire the great military leaders Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky as well as our fellow countryman, Army General Antonov, who was the main developer of the strategic offensive operation Bagration. The operation’s entire progress from the concept and preparations in unprecedented secrecy and to the active phase is an example of high military art and one of the most heroic pages of the Great Patriotic War.”