By Biodun Busari
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the West is against his country for waging a war against Ukraine after the invasion on 24th February, 2022.
Putin made this known while delivering his address at a Victory Day parade in Moscow on Tuesday, according to CNN.
He accused the West of launching a “true war” against Russia as the Kremlin staged a display of military which launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian leader, then, mocked Ukraine saying it has become a pawn in the West’s “cruel and selfish plans.”
Thousands of people lined the streets of Moscow’s Red Square Tuesday as part of Russia’s annual parade, an exhibition of patriotism marking the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.
It was on May 8, 1945, (May 9 in Moscow’s time zone) that Germany signed its Instrument of Surrender in Berlin, ending the fighting in Europe.
The USSR suffered the most casualties of any nation – about 27 million soldiers and civilians died.
It is the most significant day of Putin’s calendar, as he has long used it to rally public support, demonstrate the country’s military prowess and rail against the historical injustices he perceives Western nations have heaped on his nation.
Putin spent much of his address on Tuesday targeting the West and allies of Ukraine, which has fought back against Russia’s invasion that began in February 2022.
“A true war has been unleashed against our motherland,” Putin said on Tuesday, claiming falsely that the West had provoked the war in Ukraine.
“We have repelled international terrorism and to fit we will defend the residents of Donbas and secure our own safety. Russia has no unfriendly nations in the West or in the East.
“As the majority of people on this planet we want to see the future peaceful, free and stable. We believe any ideology of supremacy due to its nature is repulsive, criminal and deadly,” he added.
“The Ukrainian nation has become hostage to a coup which led to a criminal regime led by its Western masters. It has become a pawn to their cruel and selfish plans.”
More than 10,000 people and 125 units of various types of weapons and equipment were expected to be displayed at the parade in total, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
World leaders such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan attended the military parade in previous years.
CNN reported that such displays of solidarity have faded in recent years, after Putin’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the war in Ukraine fractured diplomatic ties.
