The Russian president told his troops that they were fighting in Ukraine “so that there’s no place for executioners, persecutors and Nazis”.
as a battle comparable to the fight against Nazi Germany as he presided over his annual display of military might on Moscow’s Red Square.“Today, you’re defending what our fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers fought for,” Mr Putin said in a speech before the military parade on Monday, flanked by World War II veterans at the May 9 Victory Day celebration marking the German defeat in 1945.
This would allow Russia to order a mass mobilisation, potentially helping to jump-start the stalled campaign. The Kremlin has denied any such plans and Mr Putin made no mention of them in his speech.“You are fighting for the fatherland, for the future, so that nobody forgets the lessons of World War II, so that there’s no place for executioners, persecutors and Nazis,” Mr Putin said.
So far, the only major military triumph Mr Putin has wrested is the still-incomplete fall of the southern port city of Mariupol after weeks of siege and bombardment that killed at least 20,000 civilians, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian fighters are continuing to resist at the city’s giant Azovstal steel plant.This year’s parade in Moscow is smaller than recent years and the Kremlin did not invite any foreign leaders.
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