
Dutch King Willem-Alexander laid a wreath Wednesday at a war memorial in Amsterdam during the first national commemoration of the country's war dead since coronavirus restrictions were lifted earlier this year.
Thousands of people — including at least one draped in a Ukrainian flag — observed two minutes of silence at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) on the Dutch capital's Dam Square. It was a marked difference from the last two May 4 wreath-laying ceremonies in Amsterdam, which were held without public attendance because of COVID-19 lockdown measures.