(ECNS) – The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War, and the World Anti-Fascist War. Russian WWII veteran Viktor Krivashov, recently granted an interview, and shared his covert operation against Japanese invaders.
On June 22, 1941, the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War broke out. At that time, Krivashov was merely 16 years old.
"I was still a young lad. We were kicking a football in a yard, running and playing games, when I heard from the radio that the war was about to break out," he recalled.
Krivashov joined the army after receiving a conscription notice in December 1942, and took a train with other recruits to the Far East, where they underwent training. About two years later, Krivashov's unit was sent to Blagoveshchensk and carried out a covert operation.
"We used telescopes to observe their positions. We pretended to mow grass, with no unusual activity, just running around." said Krivashov.
Krivashov and his comrades-in-arms discovered that the Japanese dug some trenches near a road and set up a machine gun. Beside one position, a Japanese soldier lay hidden, assigned to a suicide attack mission.
"When we approached, the wind was howling and we knew nothing about what lay ahead. Suddenly, there were two sounds of bangs. Many of our commanders fell in the first moments, because they charged forward at the front." The scenes of the war are still vividly clear to him.
"Our scouts spotted some Japanese soldiers and threw grenades over. We continued advancing slowly like this," recalled Krivashov.
On the night of May 8, 1945, Germany signed the surrender document in Karlshorst, Berlin, marking the end of World War II in Europe. On Sept. 2, 1945, the signing ceremony for Japan's formal surrender to the Allies took place on board the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Hearing the news that the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War had come to an end, Karlshorst and other soldiers couldn't hide their excitement. "Everyone jumped up immediately, overcome with exhilaration," the 100-year-old Russia veteran recalled.
After the war, Krivashov returned to Perm and he was rewarded the 2nd class Order of Patriotic War, as well as medals 'For Courage' and 'For the Victory over Japan'.
During the interview, Krivashov mentioned that he has written a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing the hope that he could go to Moscow to watch the military parade one day.
Today, he remains in good health, yet the years spent fighting against Japanese aggression undoubtedly have left a profound legacy in his life.
As time passed by, the heroic spirit remains eternal. The heroic images of Krivashov and his comrades-in-arms, who fought bravely against the enemy, never fade away. The revolutionary spirit of the veterans of World War II, who never bowed to the invaders, has been passed down through history, illuminating the present and inspiring the future.
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