The Russian Defense Ministry has published documents on the storming of Berlin by Soviet troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry published on its website on Friday, May 2, declassified documents on the Berlin offensive operation to mark the 80th anniversary of its completion.

As indicated in the Stavka directives, several breakthrough artillery divisions were ordered to be deployed in the direction of the main attack, creating a density of 250 barrels of 76 mm caliber per kilometer of the front.

In addition, the materials record cases of the Nazis using anti-aircraft guns for direct fire. At the same time, the Germans actively used the Volkssturm (units recruited from the civilian population).

"On May 2, 1945, Soviet troops captured Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany, during fierce fighting. This day has gone down in history as a symbol of the collapse of the Third Reich," the Russian Defense Ministry recalled.

According to the memoirs of Guard junior Sergeant Bugaev, on April 16, 1945, early in the morning, Soviet troops blinded the Germans with powerful searchlights. Thus, the enemies were pushed back all the way to Berlin. Already on April 29-30 and May 1, the strongest but last battles began on the canal near Berlin.

The last blow: how Soviet troops took Berlin

80 years ago, the final battle of World War II began in Europe

On May 1, the Izvestia photo exhibition "War in the Lens", dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory, opened in parks, squares and historical sites of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The project demonstrates the unique works of photojournalists of our newspaper, shot during the Great Patriotic War. On the first day of the war, 52 employees of the publication went to the front, and over 300 journalists visited the front line during the fighting.