Putin chides NATO in speech at scaled-back Victory Day parade

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday (May 9) that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an “aggressive force” backed by all of NATO and described his war goals as “just”, as he addressed a scaled back Victory Day parade on Red Square. Putin has made the memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II a central narrative of his 25-year rule. Russian authorities typically mark the parade with pomp and grandeur. But a spate of Ukrainian long-range attacks in recent weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize this year’s celebrations….