In Kyiv, celebrations on the occasion of Victory Day began

In the city-hero Kyiv, solemn ceremonies of wreaths began on monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, delegations of veterans, servicemen of the country's armed forces put living flowers to the grave of an unknown soldier in the Glory Park in the Dnieper cooler.

The main street of the city - Khreshchatyk is ready for the festive procession and military parade. The column of veterans will be headed by the head of state. Then the celebrations will be transferred to the memorial complex "National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War", which was opened exactly 25 years ago. The central figure of this complex is a 68-meter height monument "Rodina-Mother", reports ITAR-TASS.

On the very first day of the war, Kyiv was subjected to a massive bombardment of fascist aircraft. Tens of thousands of Kyivans went on mobilization in the Soviet army. In the city itself, by mid -July 1941, 13 fighter battalions and 19 detachments of the people's militia were created, and defensive structures were built around Kyiv.

Together with the Soviet troops, they heroically defended the city for 72 days, at the walls of which the Nazis lost up to 100 thousand people. During the occupation, the Nazis exterminated more than 200 thousand inhabitants of Kyiv, about a hundred thousand were stolen for forced labor in Germany.

The city caused huge damage - over 800 plants and factories, 940 public buildings, 40 percent of all living space were destroyed and destroyed, and Khreshchatyk turned into ruins. By the time of the liberation of Kyiv in November 1943, 176 thousand inhabitants remained in it - a fifth of the pre -war population of the city.

In fierce battles for Kyiv, lasting about a month and a half, and more than 400 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers died when forcing the Dnieper.