Vladimir Putin delivers a speech without triumphalism

Vladimir Putin thought of making the commemorations of Monday May 9 a show of force for Ukraine and the whole world. The ceremony, in Moscow (Russia), was finally half-hearted, with a less extensive parade than usual, men and equipment being mobilized on the front. The flypast has been cancelled.

During his speech, Vladimir Putin avoided triumphalism: his army is bogged down, and he has no victory to celebrate. He blamed the West for the conflict in Ukraine. “The NATO countries did not want to listen to us. Everything suggested that a confrontation with the neo-Nazis, supported by the Americans and their cronies, would be inevitable”, said the head of the Kremlin. The commemorations continued with the March of the Immortals, during which Russian families marched, holding up the portraits of their deceased.