MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI) – President of Russia Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged to protect memorials of Soviet soldiers abroad harshly and sequentially drawing on the international law.

These war burials are mournful and visual memory of the Red Army’s liberating mission. Certain countries attempt to savagely erase the past, to desecrate graves and memorials, Putin said during the meeting of Victory steering committee.

Currently, there are 43,866 military graves of that period are on the file of the Defense Ministry. Over 12,000 of them are abroad, within the territory of 56 foreign states. Over 4 million soldiers are buried there, the President stated.