Russia-Ukraine: West posed ‘Unacceptable Threat’, says Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin likens military action in Ukraine to Soviet fighting in World War II against Adolf Hitler’s Germany.
- President Vladimir Putin tells a WWII Victory Day Parade in Moscow’s Red Square that Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are “defending the motherland”.
- Putin also says Moscow’s offensive was a preemptive move to ward off aggression from the West.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vows his country will win the war and accuses Russia of staging a “bloody re-enactment of Nazism”.
The leader of the Moscow-backed, self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine has taken part in Victory Day celebrations in the southeastern city of Mariupol.
Denis Pushilin was seen yelling “Hurrah!” and carrying a giant St. George’s Ribbon – a symbol of Russia’s victory in WWII – in a video posted on Telegram.
Pushilin was seen wearing a jacket featuring the letter Z, which has become a prominent symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Reporting by Mansur Mirovalev in Kyiv.
