"Russian diplomats, along with embassy staff and visitors, gathered at the Soviet soldiers memorial cemetery in Warsaw on Sunday to lay wreaths and flowers at a Soviet memorial site marking 'Defender of Fatherland Day'. Footage shows attendees holding Russian, Balarusian and Polish flags and laying wreaths at the monument. Speaking at the event, Russia’s Charge d Affaires in Poland, Andrei Ordash, said the February 23 holiday remains significant. “Since February 23rd is, after all, an official holiday in Russia and Belarus, we invite our Belarusian allies, because every other institution decides for itself whether it should lay wreaths and flowers today or not,” Ordash said. He also commented on public attitudes in Poland toward the event and the wider conflict in Ukraine. “I believe that Polish society is gradually coming to understand that the truth is on our side. Ordinary people are witnessing the situation in Ukraine and the nature of the current Nazi-Banderite regime that has taken hold there. As a result, Poles generally approach our events with a sense of calm,” he added. Defender of the Fatherland Day is celebrated annually on February 23 in Russia and some former Soviet republics, honouring armed forces members and veterans. In Moscow, President Putin laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and observed a minute of silence for fallen soldiers."