The Russian military during a special military operation are fighting for the people in Donbass, for the security of the homeland, Russian President Vladimir Putin said while speaking on Red Square before the Victory Parade.
"Now, in these days, you are fighting for our people in Donbass, for the security of our homeland - Russia," the head of state said, addressing the military parade.
Putin stressed that Russia is proud of the unconquered, valiant generation of winners. "Our duty is to keep the memory of those who crushed Nazism, who bequeathed to us to be vigilant and to do everything to ensure that the horror of the global war is not repeated," he said.
The Russian leader noted that May 9, 1945, is forever inscribed in world history as the triumph of the Soviet people, their unity and spiritual power, unparalleled heroism on the front and in the rear. "Victory Day is near and dear to each of us. There is no family in Russia which was not scorched by the Great Patriotic War. The memory of it does not fade," Putin said, stressing that on this day in the endless stream of the "Immortal Regiment", children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of that war carry photographs of their relatives, fallen soldiers, who remained forever young, and departed veterans.
Dialogue with the West
The president said Russia has called on the West for an honest dialogue, but all in vain. "Russia has always advocated the creation of a system of equal and indivisible security, a system that is vital for the entire world community," Putin stressed.
"Last December we proposed concluding a treaty on security guarantees, Russia called on the West for an honest dialogue, for finding reasonable compromise solutions, for taking into account each other's interests. All in vain! The NATO countries did not want to hear us".
The president stressed that this position of Western countries meant "that in fact they had completely different plans." "And we saw that," he said.
Faith in traditional values
Putin added that Russia, unlike the West, will never give up its love of the homeland, its faith and traditional values. "We will never give up the love for the motherland, the faith and traditional values, the customs of the ancestors, the respect for all peoples and cultures. And in the West, these millennial values seem to have decided to abolish," the president said.
"Such moral degradation became the basis for cynical falsifications of the history of World War II, inciting Russophobia, praising traitors, mocking the memory of their victims, crossing out the courage of those who gained and suffered the victory," added the head of state.
Putin noted that the United States, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, "started talking about its exceptionalism, thus humiliating not only the entire world, but also its satellites, who have to pretend that they do not notice anything, and obediently swallow it all."
"But we are a different country. Russia has a different character," the president stressed.
US Veterans
The US has effectively banned its veterans from coming to the Victory Day parade in Moscow, the president said. "We know that American veterans who wanted to come to the parade in Moscow were actually banned from doing so. But I want them to know: we are proud of your feats," Putin said.
"We honor all the soldiers of the Allied armies: the Americans, the British, the French, the resistance fighters, the brave soldiers and partisans of China - all who defeated Nazism and militarism," the Russian president added.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS