Putin says Russian Forces defending ‘Motherland’

UKRAINE, RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday insisted Russia was defending the “Motherland” by its war in Ukraine, as Moscow staged a show of force at a military parade marking the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky sought, however, to undercut his Russian rival’s display of might, saying Kyiv would not allow Moscow to appropriate the Soviet Union’s triumph in World War II.

Putin blamed the West and Ukraine for today’s conflict, telling thousands of troops in Moscow’s Red Square that Russia faced an “absolutely unacceptable threat” and warning against the “horror of a global war”.

But as huge intercontinental ballistic missiles rumbled through the square, Putin made no major announcements, despite reports in the West that he could unveil an escalation of the Ukraine conflict.

The war, now well into its third month, is currently focused on eastern Ukraine. Russia is seeking to secure the region, having tried and failed to take the capital Kyiv and the north.

Meanwhile, Buildings in Odesa lay in ruins on Tuesday, a day after Kremlin forces pounded the southern Ukrainian port with missiles.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his own speech on Monday, promised Ukrainians would triumph.

– THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, THE STRAITS TIMES