- Region:
- World
- Category:
- Politics
Putin blames West for war in Ukraine
![Putin blames West for war in Ukraine]()
Putin says West 'forced' Ukraine offensive as Russia marks Victory Day. Putin blames West for war in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has told Russian soldiers they are “fighting for the same thing their fathers and grandfathers did” as he used his Victory Day speech to tie the war in Ukraine to the memory of the second world war and justify his invasion.
Putin says West 'forced' Ukraine offensive as Russia marks Victory Day.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to cast Moscow’s military action in Ukraine as a forced response to Western policies.
It came as Russia has been marking Victory Day on Monday with a special military parade in Moscow.
The day commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II and comes amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In his speech, Putin said the campaign in Ukraine was a timely and necessary move to ward off what he described as “an absolutely unacceptable threat just next to our borders”.
The Russian leader's message was in line with a consistent narrative from Moscow and repeated in Kremlin-controlled state media: that Russia is responding to a perceived threat from the West, and particularly NATO.
