Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 27 criticized Europe for being “anti-Russian” and criticized the Baltic countries for human rights at the inauguration of a monument commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Nazi siege of Leningrad.
Since launching the special military campaign in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has always compared this action to the Soviet Red Army’s fight against Nazi Germany in World War 2 and to unite the country.
Speaking in Leningrad on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Nazi siege of this city, Mr. Putin said: “The regime in Kiev promotes Hitler’s accomplices, the Nazis… in one place. In some European countries, anti-Russian sentiment is considered state policy.
According to President Putin, the Germans’ purpose in waging World War 2 was to steal the Soviet Union’s resources and destroy its people.
Mr. Putin reiterated that Ukraine was originally part of the Soviet Union and was destroyed by Hitler’s army. The head of the Kremlin also criticized the Baltic countries for human rights.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, which were all part of Moscow during the Cold War but are now members of the European Union and NATO, are the countries that have most strongly criticized Russia’s sending troops to Ukraine.
“In the Baltic countries, tens of thousands of people are considered subhuman, deprived of the most basic rights and oppressed,” Mr. Putin said, referring to crackdowns on migrants. Moscow has repeatedly accused the Baltic states of having a xenophobic attitude and treating the Russian minority here as “second-class” citizens.
The Siege of Leningrad was the Nazi military’s military blockade of the city of Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, and was also the Soviet Army’s longest defense during World War II.
The blockade of Leningrad lasted 871 days; starting in September 1941 and ending on January 27, 1944. The Battle of Leningrad is one of the greatest symbols of the military and human endurance contest between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
