Putin warns West leaders in Victory Day parade
RUSSIA wrapped itself in patriotic pageantry yesterday for Victory Day, a celebration of its defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War that President Vladimir Putin has turned into a pillar of his nearly quarter of a century in power and a justification for his move into Ukraine.
Even though few veterans of what Russia calls the Great Patriotic War are still alive 79 years after Berlin fell to the Red Army, the victory over Nazi Germany remains the most important and widely revered symbol of the country’s prowess and a key element of national identity.
Yesterday’s festivities across Russia, led by Mr Putin who this week began his fifth term in office, recall that wartime sacrifice in what has become its most important secular holiday.
“The Victory Day unites all generations,” Mr Putin said in a speech at the Red Square parade. “We are going forward relying on our centuries-old traditions and feel confident that together we will ensure a free and secure future of Russia.”
As battalions marched by and military hardware – both old and new – rumbled over the cobblestones, the sky cleared briefly to allow a flyby of warplanes, some of which trailed smoke in the white, red and blue of the Russian flag.
Mr Putin hailed the troops fighting in Ukraine as “our heroes” for their courage, resilience and self-denial, adding that “all of Russia is with you”.
He accused the West of “fuelling regional conflicts, inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife and trying to contain sovereign and independent centres of global development”.
Amid tensions with Washington over Ukraine soaring to their highest level since the Cold War, Mr Putin issued another stark reminder of Moscow’s nuclear might. “Russia will do everything to prevent global confrontation, but will not allow anyone to threaten us,” he said. “Our strategic forces are in combat readiness.” Nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles were pulled across Red Square, underlining his message.
The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in the war, an estimate that many historians consider conservative, scarring virtually every family. Nazi troops overran much of the western Soviet Union when they invaded in June 1941, before being driven back to Berlin, where the USSR’s hammer and sickle flag was raised above the ruined capital.
The UK, US, France and other allies mark the end of the war in Europe on May 8. The immense suffering and sacrifice in cities like Stalingrad, Kursk and Mr Putin’s native Leningrad – now St Petersburg – still serve as a powerful symbol of the country’s ability to prevail against seemingly overwhelming challenges.
Since coming to power on the last day of 1999, Mr Putin has made May 9 an important part of his political agenda, featuring displays of military might. Columns of tanks and missiles roll across Red Square and squadrons of fighter jets roar overhead as medalbedecked veterans join him to review the parade. Many wear the blackand-orange St George’s ribbon traditionally associated with Victory Day.
About 9,000 troops, including some 1,000 who fought in Ukraine, took part in yesterday’s parade.
When he sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 2022, Mr Putin evoked the Second World War in seeking to justify his actions that Kyiv and its Western allies denounced as an unprovoked war of aggression.
Mr Putin cited the “denazification” of Ukraine as a main goal of Moscow, falsely describing the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust, as neo-Nazis.