Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of preparing to invade Russia and told soldiers they are fighting for the future of their 'motherland' in a Victory Day speech in the country's capital on Monday (9 May).
Taking to Moscow's Red Square to mark the day, which celebrates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Mr Putin began his speech by telling Russian fighters they are fighting for the security of Russia. He said "the West did not want to listen to Russia, and they had other plans."
He said that the West was "preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea". Mr Putin told soldiers: "You are fighting for your motherland, its future. The death of every soldier and officer is painful for us. The state will do everything to take care of these families."
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The Russian president also drew parallels between the Red Army’s fighting against Nazi troops and the Russian forces’ action in Ukraine. He said that the campaign in Ukraine was a timely and necessary move to ward off potential aggression. The Russian leader added that troops are fighting for the country’s security in Ukraine, and observed a minute of silence to honour those who had fallen in combat.
There was no major announcement in President Putin’s Victory Day speech, as some had anticipated. But in his address, the Kremlin leader tried to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying Nato and Ukraine were creating threats “unacceptable to us” on Russia’s borders, reports the BBC.
However, most of the world, and international bodies such as the United Nations, consider Russia the aggressor and Moscow’s operation in Ukraine as an illegal invasion.
It comes as Russian forces have pushed forward in their assault on Ukraine, seeking to capture the crucial southern port city of Mariupol. Determined to show a success in a war now in its 11th week, Russian troops have targeted a sprawling seaside steel mill where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were making what appeared to be their last stand to save Mariupol from falling.
The mill is the only part of the city not overtaken by the invaders, and its defeat would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Russia to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.
