Thread by @France24_en

🔴: #Russia 🇷🇺 celebrates its 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on Monday with a show of military might even as its army battles Kyiv's forces in the east of Ukraine 🇺🇦

Watch President Vladimir Putin's speech #live on FRANCE 24 ⤵️ twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

🔴: 🇷🇺 President Vladimir #Putin begins his speech by telling Russian troops they are defending their country in Ukraine, calling it the "motherland" ⤵️

🇷🇺🔴 "Russia has always fought for the security that is required for the international community," says #Putin

Putin says he offered a security system to the West in December but that it was "in vain" ⤵️

🇷🇺🔴 President Vladimir Putin speaks at a parade in Moscow to celebrate #Russia's 1945 victory over Nazi Germany.

Putin claims that the "military operation" in Ukraine was a necessary for security reasons ⤵️

🇷🇺🔴 "Unacceptable threat made its way closer to our borders. Everything showed that the neo-Nazis were inevitable," says Putin.

"Russia did everything to prevent the advance of the aggressor" ⤵️

🇷🇺🔴 Russia "will never give up on the love for our country. We will never give up on our values and our traditions," says President Vladimir Putin ⤵️

🇷🇺🔴 "The death of every soldier and officer is painful for us," Putin says about the forces that Russia has lost in #Ukraine 🇺🇦

"The state will do everything to take care of these families" ⤵️

🇷🇺🔴 "Our enemies tried to turn international terrorist gangs against us in order to divide us, in order to break us, but they failed."

Putin finishes his speech with a rallying cry to the assembled soldiers: "For Russia, For Victory, Hurrah!"

🇷🇺🔴 President Putin's speech has ended.

FRANCE 24 will now bring you analysis of what he said.

Putin made amalgamation between German WW2 Nazis and present-day NATO, says Associate Professor at @AUParis Oleg Kobzeff ⤵️

@AUParis 🇷🇺🔴 FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator @dougf24 says that Putin's narrative was that an "aggressive" West is intruding on Russia's security and sovereignty as part of his propaganda messaging ⤵️

@AUParis @dougf24 🇷🇺🔴 But will this narrative and #Putin's propaganda messaging actually work?

@dougf24 and Oleg Kobzeff gave us their perspectives on this ⤵️

@AUParis @dougf24 🇷🇺🔴 Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech was quite low-key, contrary to expectations and rumours, says FRANCE 24's Moscow correspondent @DanhawkinsDh.

"Many Russians will be breathing a sigh of relief" ⤵️

@AUParis @dougf24 @DanhawkinsDh 🇷🇺🔴 Did you miss out on President Vladimir Putin's #VictoryDay speech?

Catch up with the main points with our #liveblog ⤵️
f24.my/8bxT.t

@AUParis @dougf24 @DanhawkinsDh 🔴 The "images and words coming out of Moscow 🇷🇺 today don't necessarily fit with the reality on the ground here in Kyiv," says @nadiamassih about how Ukrainians have reacted to Putin's speech and #victoryDay parade ⤵️

@AUParis @dougf24 @DanhawkinsDh @nadiamassih 🔴🇷🇺 FRANCE 24's International Affairs Commentator @dougf24 says that even though Putin's speech did not contain any big declarations as anticipated, it was full of "defiance".

The speech offered no new road map to victory, either ⤵️