The Guardian Weekly

Putin’s speech invokes great patriotic war

Andrew Roth ANDREW ROTH IS THE GUARDIAN’S MOSCOW CORRESPONDENT

Vladimir Putin told Russian soldiers they are “fighting for the same thing their fathers and grandfathers did” as he used his Victory Day speech to justify his invasion of Ukraine.

As Putin sought to rally his country, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy made his own address. “We will not allow anyone to annex this victory, we will not allow it to be appropriated,” he said.

“Nato countries did not want to listen to us,” Putin said. “They had different plans, and we saw it. They were planning an invasion into our historic lands, including Crimea … Russia gave a preemptive rebuff to aggression, it was a forced, timely and only right decision.”

The Russian president addressed troop losses in the war, saying he had signed a new order that would give educational aid to the children of those killed. “The death of each of our soldiers and officers is a grief for all of us and an irreparable loss for relatives and friends,” Putin said. “The state, regions, enterprises, public organisations will do everything to take care of such families and help them.”

The muted speech came in stark contrast to that made by Zelenskiy, who delivered a recorded address to a piano accompaniment as he walked through central Kyiv.

“This is not a war of two armies,” he said. “This is a war of two world views. A war waged by barbarians … who believe that their missiles can destroy our philosophy ... Very soon there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine. And some will not even have one left.”

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2022-05-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://theguardianweekly.pressreader.com/article/281964611309275

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