Belgrade marked the 82nd anniversary of the city's liberation in World War Two with a state ceremony at the Belgrade Liberators Cemetery, commemorating the Yugoslav Partisans and Soviet Red Army soldiers killed in the fighting against Nazi German forces in October 1944.
The liberation of what was the capital of Yugoslavia ended 1,287 days of German occupation. Historical sources estimate that nearly 3,000 Yugoslav Partisans and around 1,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in the fighting and about 14,500 wounded. German forces suffered an estimated 15,000 deaths, with around 9,000 soldiers captured.
The anniversary honors the joint operation by Yugoslav and Soviet forces that ended German control of the capital on October 20, 1944. The city suffered extensive destruction during the occupation and Allied bombing in 1944, which inflicted civilian casualties and damaged civilian infrastructure.