MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin castigated Europe on Saturday for “Russophobia” and criticized the Baltic States over human rights on the unveiling of a World Struggle Two memorial.
Since he despatched Russian troops into Ukraine almost two years in the past, Putin has been making comparisons with the fight against the Nazis in order to rally his nation.
“The regime in Kyiv exalts Hitler’s accomplices, the SS males … In a lot of European nations, Russophobia is promoted as state coverage,” Putin stated within the Leningrad area for the eightieth anniversary of the tip of the Nazi siege.
The Germans’ goals then have been to steal the Soviet Union’s assets and eradicate its individuals, he stated.
Ukraine, which was a part of the Soviet Union and itself suffered devastation by the hands of Hitler’s forces, rejects comparisons as spurious pretexts for a conflict of conquest.
In his speech, Putin additionally lambasted the Baltic States over human rights. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – dominated from Moscow through the Chilly Struggle however now members of the European Union and NATO navy alliance – have been among the many strongest critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Within the Baltic states, tens of 1000’s of persons are declared subhuman, disadvantaged of their most elementary rights, and subjected to persecution,” Putin stated, referring to migration crackdowns. Moscow has repeatedly accused the Baltic nations of xenophobia and treating Russian minorities as “second-class”.
