MOSCOW, January 11. /TASS/. Serbia intends to hold a major Immortal Regiment march in Belgrade in honor of the 80th anniversary of victory over the Nazis in World War II, the press service of the Immortal Regiment of Russia said after the patriotic movement’s representatives met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in the Serbian capital city.

"Aleksandar Vucic emphasized that it is very important to hold a major march of the Immortal Regiment in Belgrade during the celebrations marking the 80th victory anniversary to once again show the inviolability of the Russian-Serbian brotherhood, tempered by the joint struggle against Nazism," the press service said.

Summarizing the meeting with the Serbian president, the head of the movement’s executive committee, Natalia Shadrina, noted that preserving the historical memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and World War II remains a priority for Serbia. "Holding the Immortal Regiment march in Belgrade and other Serbian cities will come as further proof that our peoples continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to resist neo-Nazism in all its manifestations," the press service quoted Shadrina as saying.

Also taking part in the meeting were the general coordinator of "Immortal Regiment" Worldwide Mher Avetisyan and Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko.

About 8,000 Soviet soldiers and officers died liberating Yugoslavia. Serbia lost up to 30% of its population during the occupation, about 1.7 million people. The partisan movement of Yugoslavia played a significant role in the fight against fascism, drawing dozens of Wehrmacht divisions at pivotal moments during WWII. A great many Serbs lost their lives in Nazi concentration camps: up to 700,000 people were killed in the Jasenovac concentration camp alone.

Serbia has nine large memorial centers dedicated to Soviet soldiers. The largest of them is the Memorial to the Liberators of Belgrade. The remains of 818 Red Army soldiers and 1,395 Yugoslav partisans are buried there. In December 2020, Serbia's first Eternal Flame was lit up in the Liberators' memorial park.