Russian President Putin used his Victory Day speech today to present his case against Ukraine and the West. Victory Day celebrates the defeat of the Nazis in World War II.
Putin condemned the West in his Victory Day speech Monday at the Kremlin, claiming that the U.S. and other countries had propped up a “threat” on Russia’s borders. He said they had even supported threats of nuclear war against his country.
“Oh We saw the military infrastructure unfolding [in Ukraine]; hundreds of foreign advisers starting their work; there were regular deliveries of the most modern weapons from NATO countries. The danger grew every day,” the president explained.
“Russia gave a preemptive rebuff to aggression – this was a forced, timely and the only right decision by a sovereign, strong and independent country,” he added, referring to the launch of the military operation.
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Putin is referring to NATO expansion and Soros NGOs.
“Russia has always stood up for an international system of equality,” Putin said, according to a translation from the German outlet Deutsche-Welle. “We have always tried to find compromise solutions… Other countries had completely different plans.”
“Despite all the disagreements in international relations, Russia has always advocated the creation of a system of equal and indivisible security,” Putin continued.
He cited Moscow’s attempts to engage in dialogue on security guarantees with Washington late last year. Talks failed.
“NATO countries didn’t want to hear us, which means that, in fact, they harbored completely different plans, and we saw it,” he elaborated. There were open preparations for a punitive operation in the Donbass and “an invasion of our historical lands, including Crimea,” Putin insisted, adding that Kiev also announced plans to restore its nuclear capabilities.
“They have tried to attack our historical territories like the Crimea. They have threatened to use nuclear war, and the West has supported these military actions carried out in our neighborhood and that is why it was a threat we couldn’t accept,” the Russian president added. He claimed there was a “threat to our border.”
“We have seen the military infrastructure developed,” Putin said, mentioning “more and more international military advisors coming into the country. The country was provided with modern weapons. There was a threat that was growing day by day.”
He mentioned the United States by name.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the US has increasingly spoken of ‘American exceptionalism,’ Putin pointed out. By spreading those ideas, Washington is “humiliating not only the whole world, but also its satellites, which have to pretend that they don’t notice anything and humbly accept it all. But we are a different country,” he insisted.
“The United States of America, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union,… has humiliated not only the whole world, but also their satellite states.”
“Russia has a different character, we’ll never give up on our love for our Motherland, on our faith and traditional values and customs of our ancestors; on respect for all peoples and cultures.”
But the West has apparently decided to “cancel” those values, with such “moral degradation becoming the basis for cynical falsifications of the history of World War II, and the incitement of Russophobia,” he said.
“We know that American veterans, who wanted to come to the parade in Moscow, were basically banned from doing so,” Putin added. But he pointed out that Russia remembered the feats of the US servicemen and their contribution to victory in World War II.
“They have tried to denigrate the memory of the Second World War,” he charged.
Putin also claimed that “the enemies of our country have tried to use international terrorism against us,” likely referring to the increased sanctions against Russia and the seizure of Russian oligarchs’ assets abroad.
Putin said those living today are “the successor generation” to the generation that fought World War II. “Those who won a victory over fascism in the Second World War are a symbol for us,” he said.
“Today in the Donbas, the militia and our forces stand up in order to defend our territory,” Putin said. “We have many people we should remember, and they are now supporting us in the Donbas. You are fighting for your homeland, for the future of our homeland.”
Evoking the history of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, 1945, Putin repeatedly tied the current government of Ukraine – which is headed by the Jewish President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – to the Nazis. In fairness, for years the US media said the Azov Battalion is a Nazi battalion.
“We are dealing with Nazis,” he said when mentioning the ostensible threat of Ukraine. “We are going to punish the Nazis,” he vowed while cheering on Russian troops in the Donbas.
“We also would like to respect those who fought with us in 2014,” Putin added, hailing “the peaceful people in the Donbas who were killed by the Nazis.”
Announcing the “special military operation”on February 24, Putin said that Moscow should not repeat the mistakes of the Soviet leadership of 1940-1941. Back then, he explained, the USSR tried not to provoke Nazi Germany by “refraining or postponing the most urgent and obvious preparations it had to make to defend itself from an imminent attack.” As a result, the president continued, the moment was lost and the country was not prepared to counter the invasion.
“The attempt to appease the aggressor ahead of the Great Patriotic War proved to be a mistake which came at a high cost for our people…We will not make this mistake the second time. We have no right to do so,” Putin said.
OPINION
Putin said a number of things that did not ring true and took no responsibility for the horrors he inflicted on Ukraine.
On the other hand, originally, the US said we had to fight with Ukraine against Russia to protect their borders. Then they said Russia plans to take over the territory once held by Catherine the Great. Now, the US says we have to win – no compromise- so China doesn’t invade Taiwan. Russia – which has the economy of a US state and nowhere near the weapons the US has – says they don’t want NATO to expand anymore on their border.
War is terrible and we should be trying to stop it, not call for toppling the regime.
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