The Soviet victory flag from World War II is beginning to appear across occupied parts of Ukraine ahead of Russia’s May 9 WWII Victory Day celebration.

The red flag - flown over Berlin’s Reichstag on May 9, 1945, when the Nazis surrendered to the Soviets - bears the Soviet hammer and sickle insignia with the inscription, “150th Rifle, Order of Kutuzov Second Class, Idritz Division, 79th Rifle Corps, 3rd Shock Army, 1st Belorussian Front”.

May 9 has since become a revered holiday in Russia and the flag an important icon.

Russian troops raised a large flag as part of a staged propaganda stunt in occupied Kherson, videos published on Tuesday show. Propaganda videos published on Wednesday by Russian-backed separatists in Kreminna showed troops fixing the victory flag to a Ukrainian government building.

Kreminna fell under Russian and Russian-backed separatist control earlier this week, Ukrainian officials said.

The flag was also placed atop the regional council building in the Russian-occupied town of Henichesk in Kherson province. A statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was reinstalled in front of the council building earlier this week, CNN has previously reported.