KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, June 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is confident that the memory of the Great Patriotic War is sacred.
"For us, the Russian citizens, the memory of the Great Patriotic War and of all those who fought and sacrificed their lives, who struggled tooth and nail to bring victory closer, is absolutely sacred. It is always with us. It gives us strength to serve our country," Putin said during his visit to the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces in the Patriot Park located in Kubinka outside Moscow.
According to the Russian head of state, the memory of WWII gives one the strength to "serve our country, and moral oaths." "Oaths which we have no right to abandon and we will never back down from," President Putin stressed.
"Today, on the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, we are turning to one of the most bitter, dramatic pages of our history. On June 22, 1941, WWII began on Russian territory," Putin said. He noted that the war "became a terrible and enormous tragedy, which claimed millions of lives, and left in its wake destruction, an unmitigated sense of loss, and deep unhealed wounds." President Putin is confident that "the war-time trials and tribulations had demonstrated the incredible strength and perseverance of our people, everlasting examples of bravery, genuine patriotism, and the devotion to the ancestral legacy of protecting and defending our native soil.".