‘Russia defending Motherland in Ukraine’: Vladimir Putin's Victory Day speech echoes 1945 win
Putin told thousands of troops gathered in Moscow's Red Square that it was important ‘to do everything so that the horror of a global war does not happen again.’
Even as Russia presses its punishable war on East European country Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin on Victory day, Monday, announced that Russian forces in Ukraine were defending the Motherland from an “absolutely unacceptable threat".
President Putin inaugurated the annual parade marking the victory of Russia over Nazi Germany in World war II during the year 1945.
Putin further said that it was important to do everything to prevent the ‘horror of a global war’ again. He reiterated these thoughts to thousands of Russian troops gathered in Moscow's Red Square.
Putin also stated that Russia troops were continuing the battle against Nazism in Ukraine.
The president, however, made no major announcements during his speech, despite reports in the West that he could use the anniversary to announce an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine or a general mobilisation in Russia.
Putin had on Sunday vowed that "as in 1945, victory will be ours" as he congratulated former Soviet nations on the 77th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II.
Instead, Putin looked to rally public support for the campaign by linking the current conflict to what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.
Addressing Russian forces in Ukraine, he said: "You are fighting for the Motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War."
Putin blamed Ukraine and the West for the conflict, saying Kyiv and its allies had been preparing "an invasion of our historical lands" including in the Russian-speaking Donbas region and in Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
"An absolutely unacceptable threat to us was being created, directly on our borders," Putin said, pointing to NATO weapons deliveries to Ukraine and the deployment of foreign advisors.
Russia had no choice, Putin said, but to undertake a pre-emptive response to aggression, calling it "the only right decision" for a "sovereign, strong and independent country".
Russia was on Monday marking the 77th anniversary of its defeat of Nazi Germany with parades and marches, including the main celebration in Red Square featuring some 11,000 troops and more than 130 military vehicles.
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