٠٠:٠٩:١٤Thousands of people gathered in Berlin's Treptow and Tiergarten parks on Thursday near the Soviet memorials, to mark Victory Day and commemorate soldiers from the Red Army who died in World War II.
Earlier, Berlin police moved to ban the use of Russian and Soviet flags, symbols, songs and uniforms at celebrations commemorating the end of the Second World War on May 8-9, claiming there was a risk of violence - and this was upheld by the courts on Monday.
Footage shows one person being detained and handcuffed, claiming it was due to his t-shirt featuring Vladimir Putin and the phrase 'from Russia with love'.
Asked 'why were you arrested?' he replied: "For the T-shirt with Putin, can you imagine? For this. Motherf***ers."
Police refused to comment on the grounds for his detention.
Huge lines of people bringing flowers can be seen, as well as officials including Russian ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev and ex-Communist leader of German Democratic Republic Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz paying their respects.
"How can it [symbols] be prohibited?" said Vitaliy, "Who can ban me - the Russian citizen - from using the Russian symbols? You see, if I take off the cap then I will not be able to look at myself in the mirror. That's it. Russia is my Fatherland. We can talk a lot about it but the key thing is that it is my Fatherland, I was born there, I grew up there, I toughened up there, I served in military there, I took an oath there. So there is no other option."
Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev commented on the ban, saying that all "plans related to the 79th anniversary of Victory Day" will be fully implemented.
"Here, despite the known political background, all the memorial events which have been planned by our compatriots, including Immortal Regiment, Candle of Memory, Subbotnik of Memory, everything goes as planned," said Nechayev.
Banned items include the official Victory Banner, St. George's ribbons, as well as historical military and songs from the era. The Russian embassy in Germany called the decision 'unacceptable' and demanded 'complete cancellation of the relevant bans.'
"We consider them discriminatory and contrary to the spirit of post-war historical reconciliation of the peoples of Russia and Germany," the statement read.
The ban originally including Ukrainian flags, chants and military songs, although this was overturned by a court, meaning those are allowed.
The Soviet War Memorial in Treptow Park is one of the most significant commemoration sites in Berlin, as well as one of the largest Soviet military cemeteries, where 7,000 of the 80,000 Red Army troops who died during the Battle of Berlin between April and May 1945 are buried.
Victory Day commemorates Nazi Germany's surrender at the end of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Russia and Eastern countries traditionally mark the day on May 9, while in Europe it is May 8, due to the time difference in the signing of the capitulation.
Moscow launched the action in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'How can it be prohibited?' - Detention for 'Putin T-shirt' as thousands pay respects at Berlin's Soviet memorials despite ban on Russian flags *EXPLICIT LANGUAGE*
Thousands of people gathered in Berlin's Treptow and Tiergarten parks on Thursday near the Soviet memorials, to mark Victory Day and commemorate soldiers from the Red Army who died in World War II.
Earlier, Berlin police moved to ban the use of Russian and Soviet flags, symbols, songs and uniforms at celebrations commemorating the end of the Second World War on May 8-9, claiming there was a risk of violence - and this was upheld by the courts on Monday.
Footage shows one person being detained and handcuffed, claiming it was due to his t-shirt featuring Vladimir Putin and the phrase 'from Russia with love'.
Asked 'why were you arrested?' he replied: "For the T-shirt with Putin, can you imagine? For this. Motherf***ers."
Police refused to comment on the grounds for his detention.
Huge lines of people bringing flowers can be seen, as well as officials including Russian ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev and ex-Communist leader of German Democratic Republic Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz paying their respects.
"How can it [symbols] be prohibited?" said Vitaliy, "Who can ban me - the Russian citizen - from using the Russian symbols? You see, if I take off the cap then I will not be able to look at myself in the mirror. That's it. Russia is my Fatherland. We can talk a lot about it but the key thing is that it is my Fatherland, I was born there, I grew up there, I toughened up there, I served in military there, I took an oath there. So there is no other option."
Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev commented on the ban, saying that all "plans related to the 79th anniversary of Victory Day" will be fully implemented.
"Here, despite the known political background, all the memorial events which have been planned by our compatriots, including Immortal Regiment, Candle of Memory, Subbotnik of Memory, everything goes as planned," said Nechayev.
Banned items include the official Victory Banner, St. George's ribbons, as well as historical military and songs from the era. The Russian embassy in Germany called the decision 'unacceptable' and demanded 'complete cancellation of the relevant bans.'
"We consider them discriminatory and contrary to the spirit of post-war historical reconciliation of the peoples of Russia and Germany," the statement read.
The ban originally including Ukrainian flags, chants and military songs, although this was overturned by a court, meaning those are allowed.
The Soviet War Memorial in Treptow Park is one of the most significant commemoration sites in Berlin, as well as one of the largest Soviet military cemeteries, where 7,000 of the 80,000 Red Army troops who died during the Battle of Berlin between April and May 1945 are buried.
Victory Day commemorates Nazi Germany's surrender at the end of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Russia and Eastern countries traditionally mark the day on May 9, while in Europe it is May 8, due to the time difference in the signing of the capitulation.
Moscow launched the action in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Thousands of people gathered in Berlin's Treptow and Tiergarten parks on Thursday near the Soviet memorials, to mark Victory Day and commemorate soldiers from the Red Army who died in World War II.
Earlier, Berlin police moved to ban the use of Russian and Soviet flags, symbols, songs and uniforms at celebrations commemorating the end of the Second World War on May 8-9, claiming there was a risk of violence - and this was upheld by the courts on Monday.
Footage shows one person being detained and handcuffed, claiming it was due to his t-shirt featuring Vladimir Putin and the phrase 'from Russia with love'.
Asked 'why were you arrested?' he replied: "For the T-shirt with Putin, can you imagine? For this. Motherf***ers."
Police refused to comment on the grounds for his detention.
Huge lines of people bringing flowers can be seen, as well as officials including Russian ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev and ex-Communist leader of German Democratic Republic Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz paying their respects.
"How can it [symbols] be prohibited?" said Vitaliy, "Who can ban me - the Russian citizen - from using the Russian symbols? You see, if I take off the cap then I will not be able to look at myself in the mirror. That's it. Russia is my Fatherland. We can talk a lot about it but the key thing is that it is my Fatherland, I was born there, I grew up there, I toughened up there, I served in military there, I took an oath there. So there is no other option."
Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev commented on the ban, saying that all "plans related to the 79th anniversary of Victory Day" will be fully implemented.
"Here, despite the known political background, all the memorial events which have been planned by our compatriots, including Immortal Regiment, Candle of Memory, Subbotnik of Memory, everything goes as planned," said Nechayev.
Banned items include the official Victory Banner, St. George's ribbons, as well as historical military and songs from the era. The Russian embassy in Germany called the decision 'unacceptable' and demanded 'complete cancellation of the relevant bans.'
"We consider them discriminatory and contrary to the spirit of post-war historical reconciliation of the peoples of Russia and Germany," the statement read.
The ban originally including Ukrainian flags, chants and military songs, although this was overturned by a court, meaning those are allowed.
The Soviet War Memorial in Treptow Park is one of the most significant commemoration sites in Berlin, as well as one of the largest Soviet military cemeteries, where 7,000 of the 80,000 Red Army troops who died during the Battle of Berlin between April and May 1945 are buried.
Victory Day commemorates Nazi Germany's surrender at the end of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Russia and Eastern countries traditionally mark the day on May 9, while in Europe it is May 8, due to the time difference in the signing of the capitulation.
Moscow launched the action in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.