Veterans and world leaders gathered in Normandy on Thursday to mark the 80th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings, when more than 150,000 Allied soldiers arrived in France by sea and air to drive out the forces of Nazi Germany. With war raging in Ukraine, on Europe's borders, this year's commemoration of this major turning point in World War Two will carry special resonance. Leaders are set to draw parallels with World War Two and warn of the dangers of isolationism and the far-right. Under glorious blue skies, they were joined by a collection of Second World War jeeps. But Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, touching off Europe's biggest armed conflict since World War Two, was not invited.

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Persons: Joe Biden, Bob Gibson, Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Britain's King Charles ,, Olaf Scholz, Brigitte Perdrix Organizations: Commando, Veterans, Reuters Locations: Gold, Asnelles, France, United Kingdom, United States, Normandy, Nazi Germany, Ukraine, U.S, Arromanches, Normandy's Utah, Ukrainian, Ver, Russia, European, Colleville, Trouville