(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin evoked the memory of Soviet heroism in World War Two on Monday to urge his army towards victory in Ukraine, saying the West had been “preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea”.
Putin was speaking at the annual Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Here is reaction to Putin’s speech.
Senior Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak:
“NATO countries were not going to attack Russia. Ukraine did not plan to attack Crimea.”
British Defence Minister Ben Wallace
“There can be no victory day, only dishonour and surely defeat in Ukraine… He (Putin) must come to terms with how he’s lost in the long run, and he’s absolutely lost. Russia is not what it was.”
(Compiled by Gareth Jones)
