Putin congratulates Georgians, leaders of occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia on Victory Day

Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended his congratulations on the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany to the leaders of CIS countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), the leadership of Israel, the de facto heads of occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as to the peoples of Georgia and Moldova.

In his message addressed to the Georgian and Moldovan people, Putin called for preserving the "legacy of friendship and mutual support" and ensuring that "our shared historical heritage is not forgotten or used to sow discord between friendly nations," according to a statement from the Kremlin cited by Echo Kavkaza.

Notably, Ukraine was not mentioned in the Victory Day greetings.

The Kremlin emphasized that despite current strained diplomatic ties—Georgia has no formal diplomatic relations with Russia, and Moldova is governed by what Moscow described as “an anti-Russian administration”—friendly relations with the people of both countries remain important.

Russian state news agency TASS underlined that while diplomatic protocol typically involves congratulating state leaders, in recent years, Putin has increasingly directed messages directly to the people of countries whose governments are seen by Moscow as damaging relations with Russia.

The de facto leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Badra Gunba and Alan Gagloev, are in Moscow to attend events marking Victory Day on May 9.