Putin Delivers Speech Linking WWII Victory to Ukraine War at Red Square Parade

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a brief speech at Moscow's Red Square military parade, attempting to connect the Soviet Union's "Great Patriotic War" victory in World War II with Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded provocatively to the parade, while Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico did not listen to Putin's address. The annual May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow traditionally commemorates the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, but Putin has increasingly used the event to justify Russia's current military actions in Ukraine by drawing parallels between the two conflicts.