The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, again accused the West this Thursday, 9th, of putting the world at risk of a global conflict, stating that no country can threaten his country, which he called “the greatest nuclear power in the world”. He also highlighted that his military is “ready for combat”. The statements were made during a speech at the event celebrating the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany in World War II.
The head of the Kremlin, who leads a full-scale invasion of Ukraineaccused “arrogant” Western elites of forgetting the Soviet Union’s decisive role in defeating Adolf Hitler’s regime, in addition to saying that they fuel conflicts around the world.
“We know where the exorbitance of such ambitions leads. Russia will do everything to avoid a global confrontation,” Putin said in Red Square, in front of members of the army, amid an unusual May snowfall. “But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness.”
Risk of a global war
Recently, Russian authorities warned that the war in Ukraine has entered its most dangerous phase. Putin has repeatedly pointed to the risk of a much broader conflict involving the world’s biggest nuclear powers.
The crisis has deepened in recent weeks: the President of the United States, Joe Biden, gave final approval to a contribution of US$61 billion in aid to Ukraine; the United Kingdom said Kiev had the right to attack Russia with British weapons, and French President Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out sending French soldiers to fight Russian forces.
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On Monday, the Kremlin responded by announcing that it would include tactical nuclear weapons in a military exercisecharacterizing the American, British and French stances as threats.
Conflict against the West
After invading Ukraine in February 2022, Putin repeatedly framed the war as part of Russia’s broader struggle against the West. According to him, European nations and the United States humiliated Moscow after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Russians consider Ukrainian territory to be a sphere of influence.
Meanwhile, Kiev, Washington and Brussels accuse Putin of carrying out a land grab in the style of ancient empires. Russia currently controls about 18% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and parts of four regions in the east of the country. Moscow says it has annexed these lands, which were previously part of the Russian empire.
Victory Day
The Soviet Union lost 27 million lives in World War II, including many millions in Ukraine, but it was vital in pushing Nazi forces back to Berlin. The surrender took place on May 9, 1954, which Russians today celebrate as “Victory Day”.
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“In the West, they would like to forget the lessons of World War II,” Putin said. “But we remember that the fate of humanity was decided in great battles near Moscow and Leningrad, Rzhev, Stalingrad, Kursk and Kharkiv, near Minsk, Smolensk and Kiev, in heavy and bloody battles from Murmansk to the Caucasus and Crimea.”
In a greatly reduced military parade, indicating the tensions of war, Russia displayed just one T-34 tank. Some fighter jets flew by, releasing smoke in the colors of the Russian flag – white, blue and red. The event also featured the Russian Yars intercontinental strategic missile, which local media said has a “guaranteed ability to hit a target anywhere on the globe.”
As expected, there were no Western leaders at the ceremony, but the heads of state of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau were present.
