The Russian and Belarusian embassies held their own ceremony after local authorities canceled the official event at the request of the Ukrainian embassy.

The ceremony was originally scheduled for September 27. The authorities postponed it indefinitely, waiting for a “calmer geopolitical situation.” Russians and Belarusians held their own event on Saturday.

The memorial is dedicated to the women’s partisan detachment “Rodina.” The fascists deported 37 Soviet women from Leningrad Region and the Byelorussian SSR for forced labor in the iron ore mines in Tulle. They escaped from a concentration camp and formed this unit. The detachment fought in the ranks of the French Resistance.