Their fights were eight decades apart, but they saw themselves as brothers in arms.

A world War II veteran stopped President Volodymyr Zelensky during the ceremony for the 80^th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday — grabbing the Ukrainian leader’s hand, kissing it and calling him “the savior of the people.”

Zelensky was clearly moved by the gesture from wheelchair-bound Melvin Hurwitz, and knelt down, responding “No, no, no, you. You saved Europe.”

Hurwitz, 99, who was just 19 years old when he served as a gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber over Europe, was in Normandy to commemorate the allied invasion of France.

He was joined by hundreds of other veterans of the Second World War — including the last surviving heroes of the D-Day operation, which led to the liberation of western Europe.

Zelensky was among the world leaders — including President Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and King Charles III — who converged on the Normandy beaches to commemorate the operation.

But notably absent was Russia — after it brought the largest armed conflict to Europe since World War II with its invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin, which fought alongside the US and other allies in World War II, was a frequent target of the event’s anti-war rhetoric.

Instead, leaders held up Ukraine as an example of the same resistance to tyranny that D-Day represents.

“Your presence here, today, mister President of Ukraine, says it all,” said Macron. “We are here and won’t back away,” he said.

Crowds began to gather on the beaches of northern France just after sunrise Thursday, coinciding with the hour when American, British, and Canadian troops stormed the heavily fortified Nazi positions dug into the cliffsides in 1944.

They were joined by a brigade of WWII-era jeeps, and all looked on as an amphibious landing craft came ashore carrying a bagpiper playing a lament in commemoration of the fallen.

About 200 veterans, many American or British, took part in the ceremonies Thursday. Most are over or near 100 years old, meaning this year’s event is likely the last major anniversary the veterans will see.

More than 150,000 allied troops landed on the Normandy beaches or parachuted behind enemy lines on that June morning. Over 4,400 allied troops were killed – 2,500 of whom were Americans.

Despite Russia’s absence, Macron acknowledged the enormous sacrifices the Soviet Union made during WWII – at least 25 million Russian soldiers and civilians are estimated to have died in the war.

But the parallels to Russia’s current war in Ukraine and Hitler’s aggression in Europe remained unavoidable throughout the day.

“To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable,” President Biden said, evoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s control over Russia.

“If we were to do that, it means we’d be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches,” he said, adding that “Ukraine’s neighbors will be threatened” and “all of Europe will be threatened.”

For 100-year-old Bob Gibson, who landed on the Utah beach when he was just 20, the terrors of D-Day remain a daily reminder of what’s at stake in the world today.

“It’s like it happened yesterday. You wouldn’t believe what I have seen. Terrible. Some of the young fellows never reached the major beach,” he told Reuters.

“Sometimes it wakes you up at night.”

With Post wires.