As part of the day's commemorations, Putin visited the famous hilltop memorial complex surmounted by a towering 87-meter statue of a sword-wielding woman representing the motherland.

 

　　Later, at a memorial concert, Putin gave a rousing speech to attendants.

 

　　"Stalingrad will forever remain a symbol of the invincibility of the Russian people and the unity of the Russian people. And as long as we are devoted to ourselves, our history, our country, our language, our culture and our national memory, Russia will remain invincible."

 

　　The city, 900 kilometres south of Moscow, suffered six months of intensive fighting, beginning with massive air strikes, as Nazi forces tried to push deep into the Soviet Union and reach its Caucasus oil fields.

 

　　At least 1.2 million people are estimated to have died before the fighting ended on February 2, 1943.

 

　　The Red Army's defeat of the Nazis after house-to-house battling was a decisive turn in World War II.