The Airmen stood witness as Roland and Mench paid tribute in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Brest Hero-Fortress Memorial Complex's Eternal Flame. Never did I think that I would be part of a parade like that."īefore the parade, the band performed a concert in Brest and toured Brest Hero-Fortress Memorial Complex. "I grew up during the Cold War, and I've seen the parades in Moscow with all the soldiers, all of the high-stepping and all of the weaponry. "I can't think of anything else we've done like this," Mench said. Michael Mench, the USAFE Band commander, said the band's visit to Belarus was a unique experience. In addition to the soldiers, more than 300 pieces of military equipment from Russia and Belarus, including tanks, helicopters, fighter aircraft, transportation aircraft and bombers were featured. More than 600,000 people lined the streets to watch the parade, according to Belarus state media. "I think it is truly symbolic that representatives of the Russian and United States' armed forces will march with Belarusian servicemen in the parade." "The leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition succeeded in bridging all differences and together defeated fascism," Lukashenko said. Republic of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko echoed Roland's sentiments during a speech at the start of the parade. They agreed we should all be doing this - we should be showing that this was a joint victory. "The diplomatic corps was ecstatic to see the Americans in this parade. "For many years, this holiday has only been celebrated by Belarusians and Russians," said Scott Roland, the U.S. military unit has participated in Belarus' Victory Day Parade, according to the U.S. The band's participation was the first time a U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band marched with more than 5,000 Belarusian armed forces and Russian soldiers to commemorate the shared sacrifices of the World War II Allies and the end of hostilities 70 years ago. MINSK, Belarus (AFNS) - In a show of solidarity, U.S., Belarusian and Russian military forces set aside politics May 9 to honor World War II veterans during a Victory Day Parade in Minsk, Belarus. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Public Affairs “The Berlin Wall was initiated in August 1961, the invasion of Czechoslovakia occurred in August 1968, and the Moscow coup took place in August 1991. “August is the best time for Moscow’s military action because Western decision makers are on holidays,” Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, wrote in a blog post. The annexation of Crimea came just after Russia hosted the Sochi Olympics, and Russia sent troops into Georgia during the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He also has launched military operations while the world’s attention is on the Olympic Games and many leaders are on vacation. Putin has exhibited a tendency to use instability in the region as leverage in negotiations. said they had seen no evidence corroborating Russia’s allegations. NATO said it was closely monitoring the heightened tensions, and both it and the U.S. Ukraine’s UN mission called for “urgent” Security Council consultations over Russia’s comments on Thursday. They have imposed sanctions that have helped force the world’s biggest energy-exporting economy into recession in response to the annexation and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the latter of which the United Nations estimates has killed almost 10,000 people. The U.S., the EU and their allies have refused to recognize Russia’s takeover of Crimea. in Kiev, and the yield on the country’s dollar-denominated note maturing in 2019 rose eight basis points to 7.878 per cent. Ukraine’s hryvnia weakened 0.5 per cent at 3:09 p.m. The yield on 10-year government debt rose six basis points to 8.36 per cent. The ruble weakened 0.5 per cent against the dollar in Moscow, the most since Aug. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also spoke with Lavrov Thursday, calling for both sides to avoid exacerbating the crisis. Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday, urged both sides to avoid escalating tensions. The flareup torpedoed plans to revive four-way peace talks at the September Group of 20 meeting in China and raised warnings from analysts of a potential military conflict before Russia’s September parliamentary elections. The confrontation coincides with a surge in violence in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where government troops are fighting rebels who Kiev says are getting cash, weapons and fighters from Russia. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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