Pushkov called the ban on Soviet flags in Germany an attempt to take ideological revenge.

In Germany, by banning the demonstration of the flags of the USSR and Russia during the Great Victory celebrations on May 8 and 9, they obviously attempted to take "ideological revenge" on the winners of Nazi policy, said Alexey Pushkov, head of the Information Policy commission of the Federation Council of Russia, on April 27.

The German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost reported on April 25 that the Berlin police, as last year, plans to ban the use of Russian and Soviet flags at commemorative events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

"It smacks of ideological revenge — for now, ideological. However, ideological revenge is usually followed by an attempt at political and military revenge," the parliamentarian wrote on his Telegram channel.

He added that the ban on the use of symbols of the country that defeated German Nazism is "a visible step towards the return of militaristic and anti—Russian Germany."

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On April 23, Sarah Wagenknecht, leader of the German Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice party, said that Germany should not forget about the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union to the victory over Nazi Germany. The politician said that such actions "damage the international prestige of the country" and can be perceived as "mental preparation for a new war with Russia," recalling the role of the USSR leadership in the process of unification of Germany.

Sergei Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said that the ban imposed by EU officials on visiting Moscow during the celebration of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) on May 9 is disgusting.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on April 9 that the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs had explicitly recommended to federal, regional and local organizations to expel Russian officials from events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory.