MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. On the eve of May 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory messages to the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, as well as the peoples of Georgia and Moldova, the Kremlin press service said on Monday.

Ukraine is not mentioned in these messages this time.

"In his congratulations, the head of the Russian state noted that on this significant day we pay tribute of deep respect and gratitude to all those whose unparalleled feats on the battlefields and selfless work in the rear made it possible to defeat the Nazi invaders and defend the freedom of their native land," the statement says.

"Today it is our moral duty to sacredly preserve the traditions of friendship and mutual assistance bequeathed by our fathers and grandfathers, not to allow the historical truth about the Great Patriotic War to be distorted, as well as the justifications of the Nazis, their accomplices and current ideological heirs," Putin wrote in a congratulatory message quoted by the press service.

As the President of Russia emphasized, the spiritual legacy of the Great Victory will continue to contribute to the strengthening and fruitful development of relations between the countries and peoples listed.

"Putin conveyed words of sincere gratitude to all veterans of the Great Patriotic War and home front workers, wished them good health, good spirits, well-being and long life," the Kremlin concluded.