Putin justifies the attack on Ukraine: “It was the only possible and correct decision for a sovereign, strong and independent country”
By Javier G. Cuesta from Moscow. “The most sacred date for the Russians” arrived, as the Kremlin has described Victory Day, and Putin’s long-awaited speech contained more warnings and justifications than announcements regarding the offensive in Ukraine. “It is our duty to keep the memory of those who crushed Nazism, who bequeathed us to be vigilant and do everything possible so that the horror of a global war does not happen again,” the Russian president told his troops before accusing the United States. United States and NATO for not having listened to their calls to create a new security system and for having planned “an invasion of our historical lands, including Crimea”.
“Russia preemptively repulsed the aggression. It was a forced, timely decision. It was the only possible and correct decision for a sovereign, strong and independent country,” Putin said after assuring that NATO was deploying military infrastructure and sending advisers to Ukraine.
The president began his speech by listing different historical battles, from Borodino against Napoleon to kyiv and Stalingrad against Hitler, to underline that “this is how they are fighting these days for our people in Donbas, for the security of our homeland, Russia”.
Vladimir Putin has also reiterated that this conflict is a fight of Russia, of the “Russki Mir”, against Western values. “The United States began to talk about its exclusivity after the collapse of the Soviet Union, humiliating not only the entire world, but its satellites. But we are a different country, we will never give up the love of the country, the faith and traditional values, the customs of our ancestors”, he pointed out.
After making a minute of silence, Vladimir Putin announced new aid for the families of the Russian soldiers killed and wounded in Ukraine. However, during his speech he did not mention the feared mobilization of the reservists that the Russians were commenting on these days and that the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.
In the picture, of Evgenia Novozhenina (Reuters), Putin during a moment of his speech to celebrate the Victory Day of the Soviets against the Nazis in World War II.
