Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the West in remarks at the military parade in Moscow on Thursday to mark the 79th anniversary of Allied victory over Adolf Hitler's Germany.
The West is trying to distort the memory of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Putin said in Moscow on Thursday.
The truth disturbs "those who build their colonial policy on hypocrisy and lies," Putin claimed. "Revanchism, the mockery of history, the effort to justify today's imitators of the Nazis - this is part of the general policy of Western elites to constantly ignite new regional conflicts, ethnic or religious conflicts."
Putin has repeatedly alleged that Kiev is governed by "neo-Nazis" during the past two years, as Russian forces wage a full-scale war against the country.
Putin, who was sworn in for a fifth term on Tuesday, has also equated other countries that support Ukraine with Nazis as well. Putin on Thursday complained that Soviet memorials were being torn down in many countries.
In front of more than 9,000 soldiers, he emphasized Russia's ability to defend itself.
"We do not allow anyone to threaten us," he said, praising the Russian soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine as heroes.
Russia traditionally commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Hitler's Germany in 1945 with a military parade in Moscow; Thursday's was the third such parade since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Putin was on hand at Moscow's Red Square on a chilly morning amid light snowfall, as was Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
It has been 79 years since the former Soviet Union, together with the United States and other allied powers, defeated Nazi Germany. However, Putin is increasingly using the commemoration of World War II to present the war he has ordered against Ukraine as an alleged continuation of the fight against fascism.
According to Russian media, the 9,000 participants in the parade included soldiers who have fought in Ukraine in recent months.
While Putin exuded confidence on Thursday, perhaps in view of recent conquests of smaller towns in eastern Ukraine, the impact the war has had on Russia was clearly visible.
While the famous air show involving fighter jets was taking place again after being cancelled the past two years, this year's parade of military vehicles turned out to be a significantly more modest affair.
The only real tank paraded in front of visitors was the historic T-34, used by the Red Army in the 1940s.
As in previous years, Western leaders were not present. Only the heads of the ex-Soviet republics Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as well as Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau were in attendance.
In many Russian regions, World War II victory parades have been cancelled for security reasons. There were no major celebrations in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, for example, which border on Ukraine and are repeatedly under fire.
The traditional "Immortal Regiment" march, in which people carry large photos of World War II veterans through the streets after the victory parade, has also been cancelled throughout Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used the occasion to counter Russian propaganda. In light of daily Russian bombardment of his country, he stressed the importance of leaving behind a peaceful Europe. A Europe is needed, said Zelensky, "that neither Hitler nor Putin will destroy."
