Putin's Victory Day speech: A whiny nothingburger?
Ed Morrissey May 09, 2022 5:38 AM ET
Over the last few days, observers wondered how Vladimir Putin would use Russia’s May 9 Victory Day observance to escalate the war in Ukraine. Annex the Donbas? Declare total war and full mobilization? Launch a new offensive in the north to take out Kyiv?
Or just whine? That appears to be Putin’s choice, as he oversaw a muted celebration and vented the same rationalizations he’s used since 2014:
President Vladimir V. Putin used his Victory Day speech on Monday to try to channel Russian pride in defeating Nazi Germany into support for this year’s invasion of Ukraine. But contrary to some expectations he did not make any new announcements signaling a mass mobilization for the war effort or an escalation of the onslaught.
Mr. Putin, speaking in Moscow’s Red Square on Russia’s most important secular holiday, marking the anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II, restated his past claims that attacking Ukraine was “inevitable” and “the only correct decision.” He said Russian troops in eastern Ukraine were fighting “on their land,” an indication that Mr. Putin had no plans to relinquish control of the territory his forces had taken in recent months.
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https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/05/09/putins-victory-day-speech-a-whiny-nothingburger-n467913
