Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of former Soviet republics and Israel, as well as the people of Georgia and Moldova, on the 80th anniversary of victory in Great Patriotic War, the Kremlin press service reports.

On this occasion, Putin sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Israel, as well as the people of Georgia and Moldova.

In his messages, the Russian president emphasized that all these countries sacredly honor the glorious feats and great sacrifices of their fathers and grandfathers, who bravely fought shoulder to shoulder against the Nazi invaders and selflessly worked in the rear.

“It is our sacred duty to carefully preserve the message of the generation of winners. Therefore, it is very important to uncompromisingly suppress any attempts to distort our shared history, whitewash or forget the crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices,” the Russian leader noted.