Skip next section Laos, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Belarus send leaders, Armenia doesn’t
05/09/2024May 9, 2024
Laos, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Belarus send leaders, Armenia doesn’t
For a time in post-Soviet Russia, Western leaders would be a common sight at the May 9 commemorations, just as Putin would often attend May 8 events.
That has not been the case at the latest since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, if not before.
But leading politicians from several countries were in Moscow on Thursday for the event, particularly but not only from the former Soviet sphere.
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau all sent delegations.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was also expected, until he said while in Moscow on Wednesday that he would not be attending.
Pashinyan and Armenia’s stance towards Russia has frayed since of Nagrono-Karabakh in two stages of conflict in recent years.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ffD8
Skip next section May 9 the anniversary in Russia, a day after West
05/09/2024May 9, 2024
May 9 the anniversary in Russia, a day after West
Russia marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe a day later than Western capitals, and .
That’s because the German surrender formally and intentionally came into force at 11:01 p.m. in Berlin on May 8, or by extension at one minute past midnight on May 9 in Moscow, one hour ahead.
The plan at the time was to give the then-Soviet Union its own “Victory Day,” as it is still known in Russia, to commemorate its victory over Nazi Germany.
The day is a national holiday and the legacy of the conflict and the Soviet contribution to it remains as mythologized and revered in Putin’s Russia as it was during the Soviet era.
Ukraine, meanwhile, many of whose nationals would have fought with the Red Army at the time, changed its official memorial day from May 9 to May 8 last year.
Soviet forces played a key role in halting the Nazis’ advance through Europe, particularly in terms of the losses inflicted on the German military on the Eastern Front, at a far greater human cost to Soviet ranks.
However, most historians would concur that the three largest military powers in the Allies — the Soviets, the US and the soon-to-dissolve British Empire — were all indispensable parts of the puzzle in ensuring Germany’s defeat.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ffA7
Skip next section Putin accuses ‘arrogant’ Western countries of risking wider war
05/09/2024May 9, 2024
Putin accuses ‘arrogant’ Western countries of risking wider war
President accused the West of risking a global conflict with its response to the invasion of Ukraine during his speech to soldiers at the parade.
He said that “arrogant” leaders in the West had forgotten the role the Soviet Union had played in World War II. He also accused them of stoking conflicts throughout the world.
“Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash. But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us,” Putin said, . “Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness.”
He said Russia was currently going through a “difficult, crucial period,” and that its fate and future “depends on each of us.”
Putin often portrays the clash with the West amid as part of a wider process of Western countries provoking Russia, as he would phrase it, by encroaching on its sphere of influence in eastern Europe since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The president, this week sworn in for another term, also hailed the bravery of troops engaged in Ukraine and called for a minute’s silence towards the end of his address.
https://p.dw.com/p/4ff8D
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