Putin says a ‘real war’ is being waged against Russia in Victory Day speech

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said a “real war” was again being waged against Russia as he invoked the Soviet Union’s victory in World War Two to say the West was trying to destroy his country.

In a speech on Red Square as part of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, Putin said Russia wanted to see a peaceful future, and said the entire country was behind what Russia calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Putin said the West had forgotten the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.