The Victory Day observance in Moscow went off without any attack by the Kiev regime following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement just hours before that both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a ceasefire for the event. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered an address in which he honored the memory of those who sacrificed so much to defeat fascism. “We honor the legacy and enduring values of the soldiers of Victory. Devotion to our Fatherland unites our entire country, all the people of Russia, and preserving the memory of the Great Patriotic War, its true history and its real heroes is a matter of honor for us.” Their sacrifices “saved their country and the entire world,” Putin added.
Putin then noted that 2026 will be the 85th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, which Putin called “one of the most tragic and mournful dates in our history.”
“The Nazis treacherously attacked the Soviet Union, planning to seize the country and its vast resources, to completely destroy its culture and historical heritage, and ultimately to annihilate, enslave and commit genocide against the entire multinational Soviet people—all the peoples, nations and ethnic groups of the Soviet Union,” he said
Heightening his remarks, he then turned his attention to today. “The great feat of the victorious generation inspires the soldiers carrying out the tasks of the special military operation today. They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. Despite this, our heroes are advancing,” Putin said, clearly connecting the war fought and won 81 years ago to the ongoing war in Ukraine. He concluded by declaring: “I firmly believe that our cause is just! We are together! Victory has always been and will always be ours!”
Later, speaking at a Kremlin reception for his diplomatic guests after the parade, Putin said of the defeat of Nazism, “we have never divided this great victory into ‘ours’ and ‘theirs.’ That is why we honor the contribution of all soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition, members of the resistance, partisans and underground fighters. We will always preserve the memory of our wartime alliance, of our brotherhood in arms.”
At the same time, “It is important to firmly counter attempts to falsify the events of the Second World War and to glorify Nazis and collaborators,” he added. “They bear responsibility for the unbearable suffering and deaths of millions of civilians. It is our duty to prevent any justification of the genocide of Soviet citizens and other atrocities committed by Nazi criminals. These crimes were unequivocally condemned by the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal and have no statute of limitations.”
Again turning his attention to the future, and clarifying its connection to the struggles of the past, Putin said: “This year marks 85 years since Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union. This date carries both the sorrow of millions of lives lost and a reminder of the terrible consequences of blind belief in one’s own superiority, racism, xenophobia, and the denial of other peoples’ right to identity. I am convinced that the more just multipolar world order taking shape today must rest on the norms of the Charter of the United Nations in their entirety and fullness, be based on the principle of equal and indivisible security, and take into account the cultural and civilisational diversity of the peoples of the world, as well as their right to determine their own destiny and to follow the traditions and precepts of their ancestors, who bequeathed to all of us the duty to preserve and protect peace.”
