ST.PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — British veterans of the WWII Arctic Convoys will arrive in Russia's St. Petersburg to participate in the celebrations commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the head of the Arctic Allied Convoys organization said Wednesday.
The Arctic convoys, which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern Soviet ports from 1941 to 1945, were providing the USSR with arms and other vital supplies under the lend-lease program.
“British veterans will arrive on May 7 to celebrate together our common victory,” Yury Aleksandrov told RIA Novosti. According to him, a total of 11 WWII veterans from the United Kingdom are expected to visit Saint Petersburg.
The Arctic Allied Convoys has prepared a cultural program for the vets, including visiting exhibitions, monuments, memorials and military glory sites, Aleksandrov said.
Earlier in May, Russia’s Consul General in Scotland awarded Scottish veterans of the Arctic Convoys with medals marking 70 years of the Nazi Germany's capitulation.