Veterans of the Allied forces that stormed the beaches of Normandy 80 years ago have returned to France to commemorate D-Day. They were joined by world leaders to mark the anniversary of the pivotal World War Two battle.
More than 150,000 soldiers landed on five beaches on June 6, 1944, to drive out Nazi Germany forces.
The dwindling number of veterans still alive honored those they lost, alongside the leaders of Allied countries and Germany. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended, drawing a link between the past and the present.
French President Emmanuel Macron drew links of his own. He said, “Faced with those who claim to change borders by force or to rewrite history, let us be worthy of those who landed here.” He added that Zelenskyy’s presence at the ceremony “says it all.”
US veterans gathered at the American Cemetery and listened as President Joe Biden warned of the dangers of bowing down to dictators.
Biden said: “Were we to do that, it means we’d be forgetting what happened here in these hallowed beaches. Make no mistake: We will not bow down.”
In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the 70th anniversary. The French hosts of this year’s event declined to invite him or any other Russian delegates in light of the intensifying aggression against Ukraine. They said that these are not the right conditions.