Putin also acknowledged the role of the U.S. Just hours before the ceremony, Russia launched a wave of airstrikes against Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, with Ukrainian authorities claiming to have shot down 23 of 25 missiles. “The future of our statehood and our people depends on you.” “Today, the security of our country depends on you,” Putin said in remarks directed at those fighting in Ukraine. A real war has again been launched against our motherland,” Putin said.Īs if to underscore the comparison, Putin noted Russian servicemen and military families from what the Kremlin calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine were in attendance alongside WWII veterans. “Civilization again finds itself at a decisive, critical moment. In his address, Putin drew parallels between the Soviet victory in 1945 and Russian forces battling what he called a “cult of Nazism” today in Ukraine. Only a smattering of foreign leaders attended, all of them coming from former Soviet republics still nominally aligned with Moscow. Just one tank - a World War II-era Soviet T-34 model - rumbled across Red Square. The televised parade featured thousands of goose-stepping Russian soldiers but limited military hardware. Russia’s Victory Day ceremony traditionally echoes the grand military parades of the Soviet era, yet was scaled back amid the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin assailed the West for unleashing a “real war” against Russia, as the Kremlin leader sought to link events in Ukraine with ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany. (Photo by GAVRIIL GRIGOROV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

Putin speech victory day