Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told his country’s Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square that “a real war” has been unleashed against Russia by the West’s “untamed ambitions,” shortly after the Kremlin’s forces rained cruise missiles on Ukrainian targets.
“Today civilisation is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said at Moscow’s annual commemorations celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. “A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland.”
Since Russia invaded its neighbor more than 14 months ago, Putin has repeatedly framed the war in Ukraine as a proxy conflict with the West.
The Kremlin’s official narrative of the war has painted a picture of an existential conflict with the West, which in Moscow’s view is merely using Ukraine as a tool to destroy Russia, re-write its history and crush its traditional values. That version of events has dominated Russian state media coverage of the war.
In his speech, Putin insisted that the West’s “untamed ambitions, arrogance and impunity” are to blame for the conflict.
Putin welcomed soldiers fighting in Ukraine who were present at the parade. “To Russia! To our brave armed forces! To Victory!” Putin concluded the speech.Russia unleashed a barrage of cruise missiles on Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, hours before the start of the Moscow parade, which this year is taking place amid tight security measures.
The Kremlin’s forces launched 25 missiles overnight in a wave of attacks across Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, adding that air defense had successfully destroyed 23 of them.