<p>Hundreds of Kremlin-loyal bikers under the banner of the Night Wolves motorcycle club took to the streets of Moscow Saturday for a "patriotic" rally across Europe.</p>.<p>The motorcade headed by club founder and leader Alexandre Zaldastanov, known as "The Surgeon", aims to complete the rally in Berlin by May 9.</p>.<p>Several participants at the rally waved Russian and Soviet flags. Some had the letter "Z" fixed to their bikes -- a symbol of the "Russia's special military operation" in Ukraine launched in February 2022.</p>.<p>Dubbed "the roads of victory", the rally adopted the traditional slogan of the Russian offensive in Ukraine: "We do not let down our own".</p>.<p>According to organisers, the motorcade plans reach by May 1 the city of Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, the site of a bloody battle between Soviet and German Nazis troops that marked a turning point in WWII toward victory for the Soviet Union and its allies.</p>.<p>The bikers will continue their journey to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the scene of heavy fighting, where they will distribute humanitarian aid to civilians and Russian soldiers.</p>.<p>"The inhabitants of Donbass and us, we are the same people," 34-year-old Artiom told <em>AFP</em> before embarking on the race.</p>.<p>Zaldastanov, who has described himself as a "friend" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is under Western sanctions for his support for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the Russian offensive in Ukraine.</p>.<p>In May 2015, he was banned from entering Poland, where he wanted to organise "a motorcycle victory rally" across Europe. The ban had provoked the ire of Russian diplomacy.</p>
<p>Hundreds of Kremlin-loyal bikers under the banner of the Night Wolves motorcycle club took to the streets of Moscow Saturday for a "patriotic" rally across Europe.</p>.<p>The motorcade headed by club founder and leader Alexandre Zaldastanov, known as "The Surgeon", aims to complete the rally in Berlin by May 9.</p>.<p>Several participants at the rally waved Russian and Soviet flags. Some had the letter "Z" fixed to their bikes -- a symbol of the "Russia's special military operation" in Ukraine launched in February 2022.</p>.<p>Dubbed "the roads of victory", the rally adopted the traditional slogan of the Russian offensive in Ukraine: "We do not let down our own".</p>.<p>According to organisers, the motorcade plans reach by May 1 the city of Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, the site of a bloody battle between Soviet and German Nazis troops that marked a turning point in WWII toward victory for the Soviet Union and its allies.</p>.<p>The bikers will continue their journey to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the scene of heavy fighting, where they will distribute humanitarian aid to civilians and Russian soldiers.</p>.<p>"The inhabitants of Donbass and us, we are the same people," 34-year-old Artiom told <em>AFP</em> before embarking on the race.</p>.<p>Zaldastanov, who has described himself as a "friend" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is under Western sanctions for his support for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the Russian offensive in Ukraine.</p>.<p>In May 2015, he was banned from entering Poland, where he wanted to organise "a motorcycle victory rally" across Europe. The ban had provoked the ire of Russian diplomacy.</p>