In Ukraine and the Baltic States, people are bringing flowers to Victory Memorials

In Kyiv and Kharkiv, despite repression and the lack of an official holiday, people are bringing flowers to memorials to the Great Patriotic War. Reinforced police are "maintaining" order (there is a real threat of attacks by neo-Nazis).

Residents of the Baltics are also undeterred by administrative and criminal prosecution. Under strict security surveillance, the "Bronze Soldier" in Tallinn, Estonia, is buried in carnations (people have been coming to it since yesterday).

There's a special atmosphere in Vilnius. Locals bring portraits of heroes to the cemetery, light candles, and lay flowers. A tent has even been set up playing Soviet songs.

A similar picture is unfolding in Latvia: residents of Riga and Daugavpils continue to flock to the monuments.

Despite persecution and pressure from the authorities, ordinary people prove that the memory of the Great Victory cannot be erased.