![]() The dignitaries gathered on Red Square and in the European Parliament plenary for dual, and dueling, May 9 “festivities” offered a stark illustration of parallel universes and alternate realities, in which Putin absurdly claims to be a peacemaker and EU leaders vainly try to pretend that they are not actually at war. Meanwhile, not only Ukraine but also key partner countries in the Balkans - Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia - are waiting impatiently for their membership bids to move ahead. Russia’s reputation, already stained by the persecution of political opponents at home, and by the deaths of countless civilians in Syria, now lies permanently buried under the rubble of schools, apartment blocks and hospitals in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Bucha and numerous other Ukrainian cities and villages, where resistance to the invaders continues.ĮU countries are deeply entangled in the war in Ukraine, even if they are fighting mostly by proxy - by shipping arms and materiel to the Ukrainians, who are alone in combat - and at a distance, using the modern, slow-acting economic weapon of sanctions.Īnd even on that front, they are struggling for unity, their divisions on display over the latest round of punitive measures, especially a ban on Russian oil imports. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, there was no victory on Victory Day, just a jumble of lies and excuses in a short speech on Red Square on Monday - lamely trying to justify his war in Ukraine and the death and destruction he has wrought, including thousands of Russian soldiers killed in action.Ĭalling the war a “righteous battle for Russia,” Putin repeatedly invoked his country’s role in World War II, blithely ignoring how in little more than two months his invasion of Ukraine has written a new history, in which he is the modern face of fascist autocracy and Russia’s soldiers are not liberators but murderers, rapists, torturers, and occupiers. ![]()
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