Celebrating the 80th anniversary of victory in the Battle of Kursk

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good evening, dear friends.

Today, we are celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the victory of the Kursk Bulge, in the Battle of Kursk.

I sincerely congratulate all people of Russia on this event, and, of course, primarily our dear veterans and, with special feeling, the people of the Kursk, Belgorod, Oryol and Voronezh regions. The fighting of the heroic Salient of Fire took place on these lands, the endless fields, the copse, the heights. The Salient of Fire will remain forever one of the pinnacles of the great feats of our people.

This amazing Battle of Kursk memorial is unveiled in honour of the achievement here, in the village of Ponyri. The significance of the victory in this landmark battle cannot be overestimated: it destroyed and eliminated the striking power of the Nazis, marking a turning point in the Second World War. This was where Hitler was planning to take revenge for the defeat in Stalingrad, believing that his tank divisions and Waffen-SS troops would force a breakthrough and then roll to the east. Instead, they encountered the unbending stamina and valour of our soldiers and commanders, battle-hardened fighters of the Red Army - and the Nazi onslaught failed.

The Nazis were stopped and driven back to their already imminent and inevitable collapse, because no tiger, panther or other beast could break the spirit of the Soviet soldiers.

The Battle for Kursk lasted almost two months. A large tank battle near Prokhorovka was its main event. Hundreds of tanks converged on a narrow section of the front in a counter battle. The land was literally burning under them.

We will never forget how fiercely the tank crews, infantry, pilots, sappers and gunners - all those who fought for victory in the Battle of Kursk - crushed the enemy. There were residents of nearby villages, women and teenagers among them and they also accomplished what seemed impossible. Almost in one month, they built a 95 kilometre railway under enemy fire, thus cutting the delivery times for combat hardware and ammunition in half.

To be continued.