A group of Russian war veterans and Australian politicians have gathered in Waverley Park in Sydney to commemorate the war and honor the fallen.
Australian army entered World War II shortly after the Nazi invasion of Poland and numbered almost a million soldiers who fought alongside the Allied forces. A large number of those who gathered in Sydney on Saturday included Soviet veterans who have relocated to Australia in recent years.
Efim Solovey, President of the Association of World War II Veterans of New South Wales delivered a speech at the ceremony and said that he had received a letter with congratulations from Russian leaders Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin. He added that Russian authorities still award veterans with medals even if they live abroad.