Donetsk, May 9 - DAN. Immortal Regiment, a public action commemorating the 72nd anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War brought together more than 30,000 people in Donetsk on Tuesday.

The marchers carried portraits of their deceased relatives who fought and died in World War II, the Afghan war and the Donbass war.

The march was led by DPR Head Alexander Zakharchenko carrying the photo of his brother-in-arms, Hero of the Republic Colonel Arsen Pavlov, known as Motorola who had been killed in a terrorist attack.

The organizers said the number of participants of the Immortal Regiment march had exceeded the initial estimates.

Immortal Regiment is a public march on Victory Day in Russia and other countries with people carrying the portraits of their relatives who fought and died in World War II.

It was first launched in Tomsk in 2012, and a year later was carried out in 120 towns. In 2014, residents of 500 towns in seven countries participated in the Immortal Regiment march. The action became an official event in Russia in 2015 gathering more than 500,000 people in Moscow alone.*jk