Belarus marks the National Remembrance Day of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and the Genocide of Belarusian People

National remembrance united tens of thousands of people in the city of Brest, which has become an eternal symbol of courage. Commemorative events began with a requiem rally. The Brest Fortress was one of the first to bear the brunt of the attack 85 years ago. At dawn on 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany, treacherously violating the Non-Aggression Pact, launched a war against the Soviet Union. According to Operation Barbarossa, the German military command hoped to wage a lightning war and crush the USSR in a single blow. The border guards' resilience, heroism and courage thwarted the plans of the German command, which had allocated 30 minutes to suppress the border outposts. German troops encountered powerful resistance. In memory of the defenders of the Motherland who fell in the first minutes of the war, a wreath was laid at the eternal flame by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.