The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has pointed out during Victory in Russia Day, which commemorates the Soviet victory against Germany in World War II, that Russian troops and militias from Donetsk and Lugansk are fighting so that “there is no room for the Nazis.” The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, has pointed out that “only a madman” can want to repeat what happened and whoever defends him “imitates the Nazi philosophy”.
“Today the Donbas militias together with the Russian Army are fighting on their own land (…). Now I am addressing our troops and militias in Donbas: they are fighting for their homeland, for their future, so that no one forgets the lessons of Second World War – called the Great Patriotic War in Russia – so that there is no room for the Nazis”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today in his speech in Moscow’s Red Square to commemorate Victory Day, the most important holiday of the year in the country, which celebrates the 77th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany.
The celebration does not have the presence of any foreign president, since the “special military operation” has been condemned by the majority of the international community, although the Kremlin has argued that it has not invited any foreign leader as it is not a “round” anniversary “.
Putin has assured that Russia has carried out a “preventive” attack in Ukraine in the face of the threat from NATO and the West, and assured that it was “a necessary measure” and the “only possible” in this situation. “We have seen how military infrastructures are deployed, how hundreds of foreign experts worked in Ukraine, how they were supplying NATO weapons,” he justified during his speech.
“The danger was growing every day. It was a decision of a sovereign, strong and independent country,” he continued.
He maintains that Russia has promised to do “everything possible so that the horror of a global war is not repeated” and that is why “despite all the divergences in international relations, Russia has always advocated a global and indivisible security system, one that It is vital for the entire world community.”
“Last December we proposed to close an agreement on security guarantees. Russia called on the West for a sincere dialogue, to seek solutions and reasonable compromises for the common good. All in vain. The NATO countries did not want to listen to us, which meant that in fact they had completely different plans, and we saw them.”
Openly, he added, “they were preparing a punitive operation in Donbas, an invasion of our historical territories, including Crimea. In kyiv they announced the possible acquisition of nuclear weapons and the NATO bloc began active military development of the territories in our vicinity”.
“In this way, an intolerable threat was being systematically created for us directly on our borders,” he added, and that “everything pointed to a confrontation with neo-Nazis, supporters of (Ukrainian collaborationist leader Stepan Bandera (… ), it would be inevitable”. That is why he says that 77 years after the end of the Second World War, “the Donbas militias together with the Russian Army fight on their own land (…)”.
“I now address our Armed Forces and the militiamen of Donbas: you fight for the homeland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War, so that there is no room in the world for executioners, repressors and Nazis” .
Before asking for a minute of silence, Putin bowed his head to the memory of all those whose lives were taken by the Great Patriotic War (1931-1945), to the memory of sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, grandparents, husbands, wives , brothers, sisters, relatives, friends (…). “We bow our heads to the memory of the Odessa martyrs, who were burned alive in the House of Trade Unions in May 2014. To the memory of the elderly, women and children of Donbas, the civilians who died from the ruthless bombings, the barbaric neo-Nazi attacks,” he stressed. Putin noted that soldiers who fought during the “special military operation” in Ukraine, which he announced on February 24, were taking part in the parade.
On the occasion of the commemoration, a parade is held with the presence of units that participated in the war with Ukraine that broke out on February 24.
Some 11,000 soldiers, 131 military teams and 77 planes and helicopters participate in the parade, a figure that coincides with the anniversary of the victory over Hitler’s troops, reports Efe. The motorized column is led by the legendary T-34 tank, which ravaged the German ranks, and the new generation Armata tank. The Iskander tactical missile systems, the S-400, Buk-M3 and Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile batteries also participate.
The air show, in which fighters, bombers and helicopters were supposed to participate, was canceled at the last minute due to bad weather conditions, said Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for the Kremlin. Similar military parades take place in 28 Russian cities from Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean to Saint Petersburg on the Baltic Sea.
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, has indicated that “very soon there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine”, alluding to the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, which is commemorated today in Ukraine and Russia, and another to remember the triumph he hopes to achieve in the current conflict with Moscow.
Only “a madman” can want to repeat what happened in World War II and anyone who repeats crimes like those that occurred then “is imitating Nazi philosophy,” Zelensky denounced, alluding to Putin.
Coinciding with this anniversary, in Ukraine “we are fighting for a new victory” to stop the invasion and, although he acknowledged that the road is difficult, he was convinced that “the victory will come”.
Zelensky recalls that his country has gone through different wars, but no enemy managed to stay in Ukraine and take root because, he says, “there is no invader who can rule the free Ukrainian people.” He recalled that, as happened in World War II, when the Ukrainians fought for their freedom and won, now “we are fighting for our freedom, for the freedom of our children” and “we will win”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has asked Putin to end the war and resume peace negotiations and reiterated that the Alliance will continue to support Ukraine.
“I again call on President Putin on the occasion of May 9 to immediately end the war, withdraw his troops from Ukraine and start peace negotiations. We stand firm on the side of Ukraine and will continue to help the country assert its right to self-defense,” he said in a statement published today by the German newspaper ‘Die Welt’.
The president has rejected Moscow’s accusations that NATO is behaving in an “aggressive” manner. “For more than seven decades we have been able to prevent war for our allies. NATO is a defensive alliance, and the current crisis demonstrates that it is vital that Europe and North America remain united in NATO to ensure peace and preserve the values of freedom and democracy”.
He stresses that the Alliance, like the European Union, was built on the “ruins of World War II to prevent war”, and recalls that in the past Moscow has regularly used the commemoration of May 9 to “spread falsehoods about West and criticize NATO”. “I assume that Putin will once again spread lies about NATO and the West as a whole on May 9 this year,” he ventured.
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