Russia’s Putin says ‘arrogant’ West risking global conflict
Al Jazeera
In Victory Day speech, Russian president says his forces are in a ‘state of combat readiness’.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the “arrogant” West of risking a global conflict, warning the nuclear power’s “strategic forces” are combat-ready, as he marked the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II.
In a defiant speech on Thursday at Moscow’s Red Square before thousands of soldiers dressed in ceremonial attire, Putin said that Western elites had forgotten the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazism and were now stoking conflict around the world.
“We know what the exorbitance of such ambitions leads to. Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash,” he said. “But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness.”
Victory Day has become Russia’s most important public holiday as Putin puts the country firmly on a combat footing. Evoking the second world war, the president has repeatedly framed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as an existential battle against Nazism.
This year’s address to the nation came as his troops make advances in Ukraine and just after he took the oath for an unprecedented fifth term after winning presidential elections devoid of all opposition. At a lavish inauguration held two days earlier, he promised to deliver “victory” to Russians.
