Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski (C) meets U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (R) and Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko (L) at the City Hall in Gdansk, Poland, May 7, 2015, before ceremonies marking 70 years of the end of World War II.
WARSAW —
Poland's president led international commemorations on Thursday marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, a gathering meant as an alternative celebration to Moscow's Red Square parade two days later.
President Bronislaw Komorowski organized the ceremonies in Gdansk in reaction to the deep divisions between the West and Russia over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
They were meant to give Western leaders who want to avoid the Russian ceremonies a chance to pay homage to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Though many Western leaders are boycotting the May 9 commemorations in Moscow, few have agreed to come to the Polish event.
The guest list, however, does include U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, European Council President Donald Tusk, who returns to his home city for the event, and the presidents of Ukraine and several Central European countries.
The main commemoration will take place on the Westerplatte Peninsula in Gdansk, the site of some of the first shots fired by Germany against Poland at the start of the war.
Before the ceremonies, the U.N. leader met with Komorowski and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. In a statement, the U.N. said Ban ``encouraged the sides to swiftly and fully implement'' the measures of the peace deal for Ukraine agreed on in Minsk, Belarus.
US, Europe Mark 70th Anniversary of VE Day
1/16Russian army soldiers march along the Red Square during the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi Germany in World War II, in Moscow, May 9, 2015.
2/16An unidentified Russian WWII veteran salutes as he walks, after the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi Germany in World War II, in Red Square, Moscow, May 9, 2015.
3/16Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2015, with the St. Basil's Cathedral is in the background.
4/16Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground center, and foreign dignitaries pose for a photo after the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, at the Tomb of Unknown soldier, outside Kremlin wall, in Moscow
5/16Flowers lay on a plaque engraved with the names of Soviet casualties at a Soviet war memorial in a cemetery for killed Soviet soldiers on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, in Lebus, eastern Germany, May 8, 2015.
6/16World War II reenactors salute while the National Anthem plays during ceremony commemorating 70th Anniversary of VE Day at the National World War II Memorial, May 8, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
7/16Navy Petty Officer Kevin Smith, left, salutes WWII veteran Harold Noel, 98, who was a B-24 navigator during WWII and was shot down and imprisoned as a POW at Stalag Luft III, at the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. during a ceremony in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), May 8, 2015,
8/16World War II vintage aircraft flyover near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2015, marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, and to commemorate the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.
9/16World War II veterans and their families watch as dozens of WWII-era military airplanes fly over the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2015, during the Arsenal of Democracy World War II Victory Capitol Flyover to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
10/16Holding a World War II-era photograph of herself, WWII veteran Elizabeth Copp, 96, who was a Sergeant in the Women's Army Corps during World War II, watches as World War II aircraft fly over the World War II Memorial in Washington, May 8, 2015, in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day).
11/16A worker installing a wreath of poppies as a red peak and ribbon on top of the 102-meter Motherland Monument in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 8, 2015, to mark the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in WWII.
12/16U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) lays a wreath during a ceremony marking France's 70th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, France, May 8, 2015.
13/16Polish veteran military officers salute during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, at Westerplatte, near Gdansk, Poland, May 8, 2015.
14/16Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) stands with former former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg (C) and former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, as they line up to pay tribute at the Cenotaph during a Victory in Europe (VE) day ceremony in central London, May 8, 2015.
15/16Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski (front L) and officials attend a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the World War II, at the WWII Westerplatte Memorial in Gdansk, north Poland, May 8, 2015.
16/16A Soviet veteran pays his respects during a memorial ceremony on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II at the Soviet cemetery in Lebus, Germany, close to the border of Poland, May 8, 2015.
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Meanwhile, Russians are preparing to celebrate the Victory Day holiday with great pomp on Saturday.
Increasingly under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has used the holiday to celebrate the Soviet role in the Allied victory over Nazi Germany to instill patriotism at home and to justify the country's aggressive foreign policy.
Komorowski has said that the Polish event will also stress how the end of the war didn't bring full liberation to much of eastern Europe, but instead brought decades of unwanted Soviet domination.
That message is not likely to sit well with leaders in Russia, who prefer to stress the heroic side of Soviet actions in liberating Europe from Adolf Hitler.
