Russia is ultimately not invited to the June 6 commemorations, announces the Elysée

The French presidency believes that Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine does not make it possible to invite a delegation from this country to the 80th anniversary of “D-Day”.

Russia was not invited to the ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, scheduled for Thursday June 6, due to its “war of aggression” against Ukraine, announced the Elysée on Thursday May 30. “There will be no Russian delegation. The conditions are not met given the war of aggression that Russia is waging against Ukraine and which has further intensified in recent weeks”declared the French presidency.

This decision clarifies the position of the organizers, who until now explained that Russia would be invited, but not its president, Vladimir Putin. In April, the autocrat had in fact been declared persona non grata but the Liberation Mission, which manages the commemorations, then indicated that Russia would be invited to another level in the name of the involvement of the Soviet Union, on the East, to victory against Nazi Germany.

“We have always paid tribute to the action of the Red Army, to its decisive contribution to the final victory against Nazism, always recognized the particularly heavy price paid by the USSR, without shortcuts or amalgamation, without being fooled either of the exploitation that could sometimes be made of it in Russia”an Elysée advisor told AFP.

For this 80th anniversary of the Landing, a tribute will be paid to the “decisive contribution” of the Red Army through different “gestures”, notably in the cemeteries where Russian soldiers rest in France and as part of the “ceremony program” of June 6, assured the French presidency.

Unlike Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be one of the official guests on June 6 during the ceremony, as Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday at the end of his state visit to Germany.