Ukraine and Russia are the same countries that were attacked by Hitler in 1941. Since the two countries were part of the Soviet Union at that time, June 22 is observed as a day of mourning on both sides.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly fallen ill during a day of mourning.
According to Reuters, Russia's weight in the months-long war between the two countries appears to be heavy because of the heavy weapons it possesses.
This was recently acknowledged by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in his televised address.
He said that thanks to a good strategy, the Ukrainian army is strengthening its defenses in Luhansk.
"This is a difficult area because the invading army is also putting pressure on it from Donetsk," he said.
The provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk are collectively known as Donbass, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.
On June 22, 1941, on the eve of World War II, Hitler's Nazi German forces invaded the then-Soviet Union.
It is also considered a symbol of mourning in neighboring Belarus because Belarus was part of the Soviet Union at the time.
After Hitler's invasion, the war lasted for 1418 days, during which an estimated 27 million Soviet soldiers and civilians were killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia has launched a special military operation in Ukraine to root out the Nazis.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian government and its supporters denounce the Russian invasion and say that Putin has started such a big war for no reason.
Russia's Defense Ministry on Wednesday released war-related documents, including those accusing Germany of bombing churches and cemeteries by the Soviet Union. had gone.
Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that "in 1941, as today, the Nazis used provocative measures to discredit our state."
Russian President Putin's illness
Meanwhile, AFP quoted a local Russian website as saying that Russian President Putin, who will turn 70 in October, had fallen ill, but it was difficult to confirm.
According to the report, information about Putin's health was published in a Russian-language website in April, using open source data, stating that Putin had met with a panel of doctors in Sochi.
The panel also included thyroid cancer specialist Eugene Selvanov. Most of them have been visiting Sochi since the days when Putin disappeared from public view.
