Understanding Victory Day: The significance of May 8 and May 9

On May 9, Russian Consul General Ruslan Golubovskiy laid flowers at the Cenotaph. The surrender of Nazi Germany was a complex process, with the first act of unconditional surrender signed on May 7, 1945, in Reims, France. This surrender was to take effect at 23:01 on May 8, a date that became known as Victory in Europe Day for many Western European and North American countries. Celebrations of liberation marked a long-awaited return to peace in cities like London and Paris.