Ukraine president marks VE Day on border with Russia

Ukraine's president marked the anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe on Saturday with a visit to a village in eastern Ukraine along the Russian border.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the village of Milovoe along with ambassadors from the European Union and Group of Seven.

Milovoe is in the Luhansk region, much of which has been under the control of Russia-backed separatists since 2014, along with a large part of the adjacent Donetsk region.

More than 14,000 people have been killed in the fighting between separatists and Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine says 36 of its soldiers have died in rebel attacks this year.

Russia escalated tensions this spring with massive military exercises near the border.

"Today our brave guys and girls are defending the Ukrainian nation, our sovereignty and territorial integrity, for peace and prosperity in an independent Ukraine, for future generations," Zelenskyy said.

"For the same things as our grandfather and grandmothers in all corners of Ukraine defended their land for 76 years ago, who fought Nazism and won," he added.

At the Saur-Mogila war memorial in rebel-held territory, demonstrators marked the war's end by unfurling a 300-meter (1,000-foot) brown-and-orange banner - the colors of the ribbon on the medal given to Soviet soldiers who served in WWII.