Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to defend his country’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by evoking the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II during Monday’s annual Victory Day parade at Moscow’s Red Square.
Russian officials have accused the West, especially the United States, of pulling the strings of government officials in Ukraine, which they sat is run by Nazis. Mr. Putin said the threat along Russia’s border with Ukraine posed an existential threat.
“Danger was increasing every day. Russia repelled this aggression in a preventative way. This was the only correct decision and it was a timely decision — the decision of an independent, sovereign, and powerful nation,” Mr. Putin said, according to CNN.
Thousands of Russian troops and scores of armored combat vehicles were on display at Red Square to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
By comparison, Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has produced few, if any, tangible victories. Russian troops were stymied at the outset and were unable to capture Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. Their lack of progress has forced Russian commanders to consolidate troops in the disputed Donbas region of Ukraine.
In addition to Russia’s battlefield failures, the invasion prompted almost universal condemnation along with a number of wide-ranging economic sanctions leveled against companies and individuals connected to Moscow.