Russia invaded Ukraine because NATO posed a threat to the country. President Vladimir Putin said this in his speech during Russia’s Victory Day on Monday. In Moscow’s Red Square, he said: “NATO has allied countries around us. That posed a threat to our country.” The clash with what Putin once again called “neonazis” was, he said, “inevitable”.
Putin calls the invasion of Ukraine the “only right decision” for Russia as a “strong and sovereign” country. “There is fighting in Ukraine. All kinds of great heroes of history have also fought there. To our soldiers I say today: you fight for the fatherland so as not to forget the lessons of the Second World War.”
“We bow our heads in respect to those who fought there, to their relatives and friends. We bow our heads to the memory of Odessa, destroyed in World War II, and to those who died under Nazism.” Putin then asked those present to observe a minute of silence.
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This article is also part of our live blog: Putin on invasion: only right decision, NATO threatened Russia