Putin congratulates Russians on Victory Day, stresses people will never give up love for their country

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the Russian people on Victory Day, celebrated on May 9.

It will always be a sacred duty to defend the country when its future is at stake, Putin pointed out.

“True love for the country is what guided militiamen led by Minin and Pozharsky, those who attacked the enemy on the field of Borodino and fought the enemy on the outskirts of Moscow and Leningrad, Kiev and Minsk, Stalingrad and Kursk, Sevastopol and Kharkov,” the Russian president emphasized.

Unlike the West, the Russian people will never give up their love for the country, faith and traditional values, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square on Monday.

“We will never give up our love for the country, faith, traditional values, ancestral customs and respect for all peoples and cultures. As for the West, it seems to be determined to cancel these millennia-old values,” he noted.

 “This moral degradation paved the way for cynical falsifications of the history of World War II, attempts to incite Russophobia, glorify traitors, mock the memory of their victims and wipe out the bravery of those who fought and suffered for the Victory,” the head of state stressed.

Putin pointed out that the United States, particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, “started talking about its exceptionalism, which is humiliating not only for the entire world but also for its satellites who have to pretend that they don’t notice anything and obediently accept it all,” the Russian president emphasized.

Russia holds Victory Day Parade on Moscow’s Red Square

Earlier, a military parade to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War took place on Moscow’s Red Square.

The parade began with the march of the Honor Guard’s banner group carrying the Russian national flag and the legendary Victory Banner across Red Square. The Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag by soldiers of the Soviet 150th Idritskaya rifle division in May 1945.

President Putin, war veterans and guests watched the parade from the central reviewing stand on Red Square. Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergey Shoigu reviewed the parade, which was commanded by Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief General of the Army Oleg Salyukov.

This year, Russia’s Victory Parade on Moscow’s Red Square involved 11,000 troops and 131 items of military and special hardware.

Edited by Hamda Mustafa