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Volgograd observes Stalingrad bombing memory day

Exactly 70 years ago the city on the Volga River came under massive air bombardment, in which more than 40 thousand civilians were killed

VOLGOGRAD, August 23 (Itar-Tass) — August 23 is declared Day of Remembrance in the Volgograd Region. Exactly 70 years ago, during the Great Patriotic War (of the USSR against Nazi Germany – 1941-1945), the city on the Volga River came under massive air bombardment, in which more than 40 thousand civilians were killed.

At 16:18, Luftwaffe planes launched the first air strike on the city, in which evacuation was not even announced. The German Army aircraft made 2,000 sorties towards Stalingrad, virtually destroying it.

On Thursday, the memorial services will be held in churches of the city. The leadership of the region, city, and representatives of the public will lay flowers at the graves of the fallen defenders of the stronghold on the Volga River and killed civilians, most of whom were women, children and the elderly. Workers of the river port will put flowers into the Volga waters in the areas of former bridges, which were also destroyed by the enemy aircraft.

The beginning of the bombing will be remembered by the city-wide moment of silence at exactly 16:18. The children of Stalingrad together with the present-day school students will gather at the Monument to Civilians, who were killed on August 23, 1942, to honor their memory.