CNN —Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said his forces were “always ready” to combat external threats, as he addressed crowds gathered at Moscow’s Red Square on Thursday to celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Around 27 million people in the Soviet Union died in World War II, more than in any other country.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes soldiers as he is driven along Red Square.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS in an interview that “unfriendly countries” were not invited for a third Victory Day since the war in Ukraine began.
His Victory Day address comes just days after the Russian leader was inaugurated for a fifth term in office, in a carefully choreographed ceremony.
Persons:
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CNN, Nazi, Russian, Getty, Canel, Russian Foreign Ministry, TASS, Sputnik, Reuters, Kyiv, Kremlin
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Soviet, Nazi Germany, Russia, Ukraine, “ Russia, AFP, Red Square, Anadolu, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Cuba, Laos, Guinea, Bissau, Russian, United States