Moscow's Victory Day military parade
The 77th Victory Day anniversary of the end of WWII was held on the Red Square in Moscow, and Putin delivers a speech in commemoration.
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The Russian end of WWII parade
A military parade was held in Moscow to commemorate Vicory Day.
The parade is a commemoration of the end of WWII and over 11,000 military units participated in the parade, which includes an aviation segment that was canceled due to inclement weather and 131 units of military equipment.
During the parade, the Russian President told Russians that the West "was preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea" and told citizens that Russian troops were defending their nation in Ukraine.
According to Putin, the West was preparing an operation in Donbass. He told the crowds that Russia "urged Europe to find a fair compromise, but they didn't want to hear us," adding that in Kiev, they were saying they might get nuclear weapons and NATO started exploring the lands close to us, which "became an obvious threat to our country and to our borders."
Read more: Russian intelligence: Ukraine planned an invasion of Donbass
During his speech, he addressed the families of deceased soldiers and reassured the public they would be taken care of.
"You are fighting for your Motherland, its future," he said, adding that the "death of every soldier is painful for us."
Zelensky released a video statement alleging that Ukraine will not allow Russia to "appropriate victory" in WWII.
"Today we celebrate Victory Day over Nazism. We are proud of our ancestors who together with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition defeated Nazism. And we will not allow anyone to annex this victory. We will not allow it to be appropriated," he said.
