As a journalist from the AFP news agency observed, the column started on Saturday in the south-east of the Russian capital. It consisted of hundreds of members of the Night Wolves club, which vehemently supports Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.
Putin’s “Night Wolves” are now driving to Berlin via the “Routes of Victory”.
Several rally participants carried Russian and Soviet flags. Some had affixed the letter Z to their motorcycles, symbolizing the offensive in Ukraine, officially dubbed “military special operations” by the Kremlin. The rally is called “The Routes of Victory”.
The rally is led by Alexander Zaldostanov, the boss and founder of the “Night Wolves”, who describes himself as a “friend” of Putin. Zaldostanov is under Western sanctions for his support for Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
The rally should first lead to Volgograd – the former Stalingrad. The Red Army’s victory over Hitler’s Wehrmacht in the almost six-month battle there (1942-1943) marked a turning point in the Soviet Union’s struggle against Nazi Germany in World War II. February 2 marked the 80th anniversary of this in the presence of Putin in Volgograd been committed victory.
“Night wolves” also drive through the war zone in Ukraine
The rally is then scheduled to continue to the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, where the participants plan to distribute humanitarian aid to civilians and Russian soldiers. Last September, Moscow declared Donetsk and three other Ukrainian regions annexed. However, the four regions are only partially controlled by Russia.
The rally in Berlin is scheduled to end on May 9th. May 9th is the anniversary of the end of the World War in Russia, in Germany and other European countries this anniversary is already celebrated on May 8th.
The “Night Wolves” were founded in 1989 shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the past, delegations from the club have repeatedly left Moscow for Berlin to celebrate the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany.
