Moscow, May 9: Russia on Thursday wrapped itself in patriotic pageantry for Victory Day, as President Vladimir Putin celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II by hailing his forces fighting in Ukraine and blasting the West for fueling conflicts around the world. 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 remains the most important and widely revered symbol of Russia's prowess and a key element of national identity.

Putin has turned Victory Day 슬롯사이트” the country's most important secular holiday 슬롯사이트” into a pillar of his nearly quarter-century in power and a justification of his military action in Ukraine. Two days after beginning his fifth term in office, he led the festivities across Russia that recall the nation's wartime sacrifice.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천Russia Accuses US of Interfering in India슬롯사이트™s Internal Affairs, Trying To 슬롯사이트˜Complicate슬롯사이트™ Lok Sabha Elections.

슬롯사이트œVictory Day unites all generations,슬롯사이트 Putin said in a speech in Red Square that came on the coldest May 9 in decades amid some snow flurries. 슬롯사이트œWe 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 슬롯사이트” both old and new 슬롯사이트” 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.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천France Military Jets 'Accidently' Paint Marseille Sky With Russia Flag (Watch Videos).

Putin hailed the troops fighting in Ukraine as 슬롯사이트œour heroes슬롯사이트 for their courage, resilience and self-denial, adding that 슬롯사이트œall of Russia is with you.슬롯사이트 He accused the West of 슬롯사이트œfueling regional conflicts, inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife and trying to contain sovereign and independent centers of global development.슬롯사이트 With tensions with Washington over Ukraine soaring to their highest level since the Cold War, Putin issued another stark reminder of Moscow's nuclear might. 슬롯사이트œRussia will do everything to prevent global confrontation, but will not allow anyone to threaten us,슬롯사이트 he said. 슬롯사이트œOur strategic forces are in combat readiness.슬롯사이트

Nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles were pulled across Red Square, underscoring his message. The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in World War II, 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 all the way to Berlin, where the USSR's hammer and sickle flag was raised above the ruined capital. The US, UK, 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 Putin's native Leningrad 슬롯사이트” now St Petersburg 슬롯사이트” 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, Putin has made May 9 an important part of his political agenda, featuring missiles, tanks and fighter jets.

Medal-bedecked veterans joined him Thursday to review the parade, and many 슬롯사이트” including the president 슬롯사이트” wore the black-and-orange St George's ribbon that is traditionally associated with Victory Day. About 9,000 troops, including about 1,000 who fought in Ukraine, took part in Thursday's parade.

Although the US and UK ambassadors did not attend, Putin was joined by other dignitaries and presidents of several former Soviet nations along with a few other Moscow allies, including the leaders of Cuba, Guinea-Bissau and Laos.슬롯 머신 사이트 추천 In his speech, he accused the West of 슬롯사이트œrevanchism 슬롯사이트¦ hypocrisy and lies슬롯사이트 in seeking to play down the Soviet role in defeating Nazi Germany.

Putin described Victory Day as 슬롯사이트œvery emotional and poignant.슬롯사이트 슬롯사이트œEvery family is honoring its heroes, looking at pictures with dear faces and remembering their relatives and how they fought,슬롯사이트 he said. Putin, 71, talks frequently about his family history, sharing memories of his father, who fought on the front during the Nazi siege of the city and was badly wounded. As Putin tells it, his father, also named Vladimir, came home from a military hospital during the war to see workers trying to take away his wife, Maria, who had been declared dead of starvation. But the elder Putin did not believe she had died 슬롯사이트” saying she had only lost consciousness, weak with hunger. Their first child, Viktor, died during the siege when he was 3, one of more than 1 million Leningrad residents who died in the 872-day blockade, most of them from starvation.

For several years, Putin carried a photo of his father in Victory Day marches 슬롯사이트” as did others honoring relatives who were war veterans 슬롯사이트” in what was called the 슬롯사이트œImmortal Regiment.슬롯사이트 Those demonstrations were suspended during the coronavirus pandemic and then again amid security concerns after the start of the fighting in Ukraine.

As part of his efforts to burnish the Soviet legacy and trample on any attempts to question it, Russia has introduced laws that criminalized the 슬롯사이트œrehabilitation of Nazism슬롯사이트 that include punishing the 슬롯사이트œdesecration슬롯사이트 of memorials or challenging Kremlin versions of World War II history.

When he sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Putin evoked World War II in seeking to justify his actions that Kyiv and its Western allies denounced as an unprovoked war of aggression. Putin cited the 슬롯사이트œdenazification슬롯사이트 of Ukraine as a main goal of Moscow, falsely describing the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust, as neo-Nazis.

Putin tried to cast Ukraine's veneration of some of its nationalist leaders who cooperated with the Nazis in World War II as a sign of Kyiv's purported Nazi sympathies. He regularly made unfounded references to Ukrainian nationalist figures such as Stepan Bandera, who was killed by a Soviet spy in Munich in 1959, as an underlying justification for the Russian military action in Ukraine.

Many observers see Putin's focus on World War II as part of his efforts to revive the USSR's clout and prestige and his reliance on Soviet practices. 슬롯사이트œIt's the continuous self-identification with the USSR as the victor of Nazism and the lack of any other strong legitimacy that forced the Kremlin to declare denazification' as the goal of the war,슬롯사이트 Nikolay Epplee said in a commentary for Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. The Russian leadership, he said, has 슬롯사이트œlocked itself up in a worldview limited by the Soviet past.슬롯사이트

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)