NANJING - East China's Nanjing City on Tuesday held a memorial service for the Soviet air squadron that volunteered to help China drive out invading Japanese troops during World War II.

More than 200 people attended the ritual in Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyr Memorial Hall, where they bowed and laid flowers before a giant tablet inscribed with the names of 236 of the Russian martyrs.

May 9 marks the 70th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War.

Although less known than the "Flying Tigers", its US equivalent, the Soviet Union air squadron was the first international force to join China's Anti-Fascist War in 1937. More than 2,000 Russian pilots and 1,000 aircraft joined the volunteer force, and more than 200 of the pilots sacrificed their lives.

"Russian textbooks have a part about the Soviet Union aiding China and fighting the Japanese together," said Mikhail Grab, a Russian student attending the ceremony. "I'm so glad to know the Chinese people still remember that history."