(Read the full article on apnews.com)

Ukraine’s president marked the anniversary of World War II’s end in Europe by visiting a village along the Russian border, where tensions had escalated during a recent Russian military buildup, Associated Press reported.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the village of Milovoe in eastern Ukraine with ambassadors from the European Union and the Group of Seven wealthy nations. Milovoe is located in the Luhansk region, much of which has been under the control of Russia-backed separatists since 2014 along with a large part of the adjacent Donetsk region, AP said.

More than 14,000 people have been killed during seven years of fighting between the separatists and Ukrainian forces. Ukraine says 36 of its soldiers have died in rebel attacks so far this year, according to AP.

A massive troop buildup and military exercises in western Russia near the border with Ukraine caused alarm among Ukrainian officials and their allies before Moscow pulled the troops back.