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Putin to attend ceremonies marking 70th anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad Sat

Later in the day Putin is scheduled to address an audience at the Palace of Sports during a gala concert

MOSCOW, February 2 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday will arrive in Volgograd for special ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Kremlin’s press-service said on Friday.

Putin will visit the state history memorial The Battle of Stalingrad on the Mamayev Kurgan hill, where in the company of World War II veterans he will lay a wreath in the Hall of Military Glory. Also, Putin will visit a local military cemetery.

Later in the day Putin is scheduled to address an audience at the Palace of Sports during a gala concert.

The anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad is marked on February 2. In scale, duration and intensity the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the largest in World War II. In fact, it turned the war’s tide. It lasted 200 days and nights. Near Stalingrad 14 Nazi divisions and 12 Soviet ones fought tooth and claw for months. The Battle of Stalingrad claimed the lives of 480,000 Soviet soldiers. More than 500,000 others were injured. Hitler’s army lost about 1.5 million officers and men – killed, injured, taken prisoner or missing in action.

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