Vladimir Putin is not on the guest list, but Russian representatives have been invited to take part in WWII anniversary ceremony.
France’s decision to invite Russia to attend the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings has stoked tensions with allied nations as leaders prepare to gather on the Normandy beaches on June 6.
Last month, Paris caught Western countries off guard when D-Day organizers announced they were extending an invitation to Moscow even as Russia launches a fresh offensive on Ukraine. Officials from the United Kingdom and two other World War II allies expressed concerns over the move, raising questions ranging from the symbolic nature of the occasion, protocol issues and queries about diplomatic engagement with Russian representatives.
A U.K. government official said that France’s actions — not only the D-Day invitation but also hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping this month and sending a representative to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration — were “disturbing.”
Western countries’ relationship with russia may be more relaxed and allow for making ammends, but for any country in the east there was never a time in the past centuries when russia has not behaved lile a bully. Heck, ask any ww2 survivor in eastern europe and they’ll tell you the russian “liberator” soldier was just a pillaging and raping piece of shit, and this was when they were technically not the occupier. And this before you start discussing the horrors of russian communist imperialism. I think its quite justified to think they should not be invited to any ww2 commemorations or allowed to act like they are part of “the good guys”.
Why do any ww2 commemoration if you’re not going to invite the country that ended the war at this point ?