Today President Putin congratulated Russians on the 78th anniversary of Victory Day: drawing parallels between the war today and the second world war. 

"A real war has been unleashed against our motherland again. But we have repulsed international terrorism, we will protect the people of Donbas, we will ensure our security," Putin said at the military parade in Moscow. 

Putin added that today, civilization is at a "turning point": noting that any ideology of superiority is unacceptable.

"Like the vast majority of people on the planet, we want to see a future of peace, freedom, and stability. Any ideology of superiority is inherently disgusting, criminal, and deadly." 

Putin pointed out that the collective West provokes conflicts and color revolutions, and destroys traditional values. 

Full Putin Speech at the Victory Day Parade 2023

"We see how in certain countries they ruthlessly and cold-bloodedly destroy memorials to Soviet soldiers, demolish monuments to great commanders, create a real cult of the Nazis and their proxies, erase and demonize the memory of… pic.twitter.com/AQlnvB7GpE

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) May 9, 2023

In regard to Ukraine, Putin contended that Kiev has fell hostage to the Euromaidan coup in 2014, and has been rendered into a bargaining chip in the hands of the West against Russia. 

“Over-the-top ambitions, arrogance, and lack of accountability inevitably turn into tragedies. This is the reason for the catastrophe that the Ukrainian people are now going through. It became a hostage of the coup and the criminal regime of its Western masters that had developed on its basis, a bargaining chip in the implementation of their cruel selfish plans,” Putin said.

Read more: Zelensky dubbed 'Judas' after substituting Victory Day with Europe Day

It was reported earlier today that around 1,000 people in Berlin including Germans, Russia, and other nationals of former Soviet Republics gathered at Brandenburg Gate around noon and marched towards the Soviet War Memorial: commemorating the fallen soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War.

Sputnik's correspondent reported that the March was interrupted recurrently by the police. Additionally,  members of the Immortal Regiment were reportedly not allowed to spend a minute of silence in front of the memorial. 

The reporter noted that such restrictive measures by the German authorities on Victory Day are unprecedented. 

Read more: Putin to give Victory Day speech as usual despite UAV attack: Kremlin