Germany maintains diplomatic boycott, bars Russia from WWII memorial

The parliament removed Russian Ambassador Sergej Netschajew from the invitation list for the May 8 ceremony, following guidance from the Foreign Ministry, according to the DPA news agency.

The Belarusian ambassador will also be excluded.

In a letter to federal states, municipalities, and memorial sites, the Foreign Ministry advised against the presence of Russian and Belarusian representatives at commemorative events this year.

Officials warned that Russia could instrumentalize the events as propaganda “by inappropriately connecting them to its war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has justified his war in Ukraine as a fight against Nazis.

Earlier this week, the Russian ambassador attended a World War II commemoration marking the Battle of the Seelow Heights, where at least 30,000 Soviet soldiers died. He laid flowers at the monument to the battle.

“It’s inappropriate for a representative of a criminal regime that is attacking my country with missiles, bombs, and drones every day to be present at a commemoration of war victims,” Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev told Welt TV.

Since Russia launched its war in Ukraine in 2022, Berlin has joined Western sanctions on Moscow and imposed a diplomatic boycott.

Russian representatives have traditionally played a key role in German World War II commemorations, as the Soviet Union was central to defeating Nazi Germany.