Why does Putin display NATO weapons? Understand

“We all know that the North Atlantic Alliance is not a party to the conflict, but the display of such equipment creates the impression that NATO is not only involved but has been defeated. Russia should not act as if victory is already theirs.” , NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said of the display.

He reaffirmed that Ukraine is on its way to becoming a member of the Western military alliance.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people packed Moscow’s Victory Square to see the display of NATO-origin weapons captured by Russia in Ukraine.

It’s a propaganda move by Vladimir Putin ahead of Victory Day on May 9, when Russians celebrate Hitler’s defeat in World War II.

The Kremlin maintains that it is fighting to “denazify” Ukraine, which has great appeal in Russian public opinion.

Between civilians and military, the Soviet Union lost almost 30 million people to defeat Hitler in World War II.

Although critical of communism, Putin takes advantage of the victory led by Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky to overcome resistance to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

Such an effort takes a heavy emotional toll on Russian families, in the recruitment and loss of thousands of soldiers.

This directly contradicts the image of Putin as a defender of morals and good customs, that is, of the family, against LGBTQI+ people and what he considers threatening inventions from the West.

SUCCESS

From Putin’s point of view, the display of Western military equipment was a tremendous success.

Tens of thousands of people came to see the exhibition, which will be open throughout the month of May.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:

The exhibition of trophy equipment will attract great interest from Moscow residents, visitors to our city and all residents of the country. We should all see the enemy’s damaged equipment.

Highlighted in the exhibition, the American M1 Abrams tank and a Bradley IFV armored vehicle. Both with the United States flag.

A German Leopard 2A6 tank is reminiscent of the military campaign against Hitler.

Maria Zakharova, the provocative Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, posted:

This exhibition will be interesting for all those who still believe in mythical “Western values” or do not understand the aggression unleashed by NATO against Russia and our people.

On the battlefield, after dilapidating Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Russia has been making consistent advances.

The first objective is to conquer the entire territory of the province of Donetsk, already incorporated by Russia.

As stated by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, another objective would be the conquest of Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, which Volodymyr Zelensky’s government uses as a base to try to establish a Russian government “in exile”, in the province of Belgorod.

Conquering other people’s territory and installing a friendly government is Washington’s historic tactic. In Brazil, before the 1964 coup, the US considered supporting a government parallel to João Goulart’s based in Belo Horizonte, in the event of civil war. In Venezuela, more recently, they supported the government of self-proclaimed president Juan Guaidó, who unsuccessfully sought to gain control of Venezuelan assets frozen abroad.

For a long-term war, Putin depends on support from local public opinion, which he is gaining by demonstrating that he is at war against the entire West — which materializes in the NATO weapons seized in Ukraine and now displayed in Moscow .