Vladimir Putin attends Defender of the Fatherland Day

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended on Monday (February 23) a wreath laying ceremony in Moscow to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day, an annual nationwide holiday that honours the nation’s military achievements and its veterans.

Putin paid tribute to war heroes at the observance ceremony held at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a memorial positioned by the Kremlin wall.

The ceremony was held as Ukraine’s military announced it could not start withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line in the east as required under a tenuous ceasefire because pro-Russian separatists who advanced last week were still attacking its positions.