BERLIN: Germany will block some members of an ultra-nationalist Russian motorcycle club from entering the country, government sources said, after Poland also announced an entry ban for the group, which is blacklisted by the United States.

About 50 members of the Night Wolves, sometimes referred to as "Putin's Hells Angels", set off from Moscow on Saturday on a motorcycle ride to Berlin they said was to mark the 70th anniversary of victory by Soviet forces over Nazi Germany. The group plans to commemorate the World War II victory by tracing the Red Army's path to Berlin.

Vladimir Putin (right) rides a Harley Davidson Lehman Trike with Night Wolves leader Aleksandr Zaldostanov, known by the nickname "The Surgeon, in 2010. Credit:Reuters

The riders planned to cruise from Moscow through Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany before arriving in Berlin on May 9, the 70th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat, according to the Night Wolves' website.

The Night Wolves, who have more than 5000 members, are led by Aleksandr Zaldostanov, a trained doctor who goes by the nickname "The Surgeon".