🏅Remarks by President of Russia, Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Vladimir Putin at a military parade marking the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (May 9, 2025)

💬President Putin: Citizens of Russia, veterans, guests, comrade soldiers and sailors, sergeants and sergeant majors, midshipmen and warrant officers, comrade officers, generals and admirals!

I congratulate you on the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War!

Today, we are all united by the feelings of joy and grief, pride and gratitude, and admiration for the generation that crushed Nazism and won freedom and peace for all humanity at the cost of millions of lives.

We faithfully preserve the memory of those historic, glorious events. As the heirs of the victors, today we celebrate Victory Day as the most important holiday for the country, which the entire nation, each family, each of us holds dear. <...>

We remember the lessons of WWII and will never agree with the distortion of those events or attempts to justify the murderers and slander the true victors.

Our duty is to defend the honour of the Red Army soldiers and commanders, and the heroism of fighters of different ethnic backgrounds who will forever remain Russian soldiers in world history.

❗️ Russia has been and will continue to be an indestructible obstacle to Nazism, Russophobia and anti-Semitism, and will stand in the way of the violence perpetrated by the champions of these aggressive and destructive ideas.Truth and justice are on our side. The whole of Russia, our society and all people support the participants in the special military operation. We are proud of their courage and spirit, and their steely determination that has always brought us Victory.

The Soviet Union bore the brunt of the enemy’s most savage and relentless assaults. Millions of people, once devoted solely to peaceful labour, took up arms and stood firm to the death on every hill, bridgehead, and defensive line. The outcome of WWII was determined by decisive victories in major battles of Moscow and Stalingrad, on the Kursk Bulge and the Dnieper River, by the courage of the defenders of Belarus, who were the first to face the invader, by staunch resistance at the Brest Fortress and in Mogilev, Odessa, Sevastopol, Murmansk, Tula and Smolensk, by the heroism of the residents of besieged Leningrad. <...>

The contribution of the peoples of Central Asia and the South Caucasus was immense. From these regions came a steady flow of trains delivering everything the front needed. Hospitals were established, and hundreds of thousands of evacuees found a second home there. <...>

We honour every veteran of the Great Patriotic War and bow our heads in remembrance of all who gave their lives for Victory. <...>

We bow our heads before our fallen comrades-in-arms who laid down their lives as heroes in a righteous battle for Russia.
Nearly 80% of the world’s population were drawn into the fiery orbit of WWII.
The complete defeat of Nazi Germany, militarist Japan and their satellites around the world was achieved through the combined efforts of the Allied Nations.
☝️ We will never forget that the opening of the Second Front in Europe, which took place after the decisive battles in the territory of the Soviet Union, hastened Victory. We highly appreciate the contribution made to our common struggle by the Allied armies, members of the Resistance, the courageous people of China, and all those who fought for a peaceful future.

We will continue to look up to our veterans, taking example from their wholehearted love of the Motherland and commitment to defending our homeland and the values of humanism and justice. We will give these traditions and this great heritage the biggest place in our hearts and will pass them on to future generations.

We will always rely on our unity in battle and in peaceful endeavours, in striving for strategic goals and tackling problems for the benefit of Russia and its greatness and prosperity.

Glory to the victorious nation! Happy Victory Day! Hurrah!

#Victory80