Russia
Pro-Putin bikers embark on ‘patriotic’ rally
Hundreds of two-wheelers traveled from Moscow to Berlin through the Donbass on Saturday. A race for glory for the Russian state led by a loyalist of Vladimir Putin.
Published
Hundreds of ‘Night Wolves’ bikers are led by club founder Alexander Zaldostanov (above), who he claims is Putin’s ‘friend’.
AFP
Hundreds of Russian bikers, members of the “Night Wolves” club loyal to the Kremlin, began a “patriotic” rally in Moscow on Saturday, with the ambition of finishing their race in Berlin on May 9, an AFP journalist noted. A column of bikers led by Alexander Zaldastanov, nicknamed “The Surgeon”, 60, the leader and founder of the club, left the “bike-center” where the “Night Wolves” live in the southeast of Moscow.
Many rally participants carried Russian and Soviet flags. Some people stuck the letters “Z” on their motorcycles to symbolize the “Russian special military operation” that began in February 2022 in Ukraine. Called “Paths of Victory”, the rally took the traditional slogan of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, “We will not let ourselves down”.
Humanitarian assistance to civilians and soldiers in Donetsk
Organizers say bikers will ride May Day through Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, on the Volga River, the scene of a bloody battle between Soviet and German Nazi troops that marked the turning point of World War II in 1942-43, organizers say. The victory of the Soviet Union and its allies.
They will then continue their journey to the Donetsk region, in the heavily contested Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, where they intend to distribute humanitarian aid to Russian civilians and soldiers. “The people of Donbas and us are the same people,” explained 34-year-old laborer Artyom before starting the race.
Under Western sanctions
Alexander Zaldastanov, a self-proclaimed “friend” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is under Western sanctions for supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the Russian offensive in Ukraine. In May 2015, he was banned from entering Poland when he wanted to organize a “motorcycle victory rally” across Europe. The ban drew the ire of Russian diplomacy.
(AFP)
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