Hardly any other country marks the end of World War II with the same fanfare and fervor as Russia, for which the victory over Nazi Germany 80 years ago remains a source of immense pride and a defining moment of history.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi forces in the battle of Stalingrad, and evoked the long and grueling fight as justification for the conflict in Ukraine.

Hundreds of Ukrainian nationalists held a torchlight march in the capital of Kyiv to mark the birthday of Stepan Bandera, the leader of a rebel militia that fought alongside Nazi soldiers in World War II.