Russia celebrates Victory Day as President Putin accuses West of fueling global conflicts

Moscow: 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 — the country’s most important secular holiday — 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.

“Victory Day unites all generations,” Putin said in a speech in Red Square that came on the coldest May 9 in decades amid some snow flurries.

“We 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 — both old and new — 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.

Putin hailed the troops fighting in Ukraine as “our heroes” for their courage, resilience and self-denial, adding that “all of Russia is with you.”

He accused the West of “fueling regional conflicts, inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife and trying

to contain sovereign and independent centers of global development.”

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. “Russia will do everything to prevent global confrontation, but will not allow anyone to threaten us,” he said. “Our strategic forces are in combat readiness.”

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. agencies