How the world reacted to Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day remarks

The world watched closely as Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a crucial Victory Day address on Monday from Moscow’s Red Square. Reactions started pouring in soon after Putin concluded his 11-minute speech.

While a reaction from the White House is still pending, United Kingdom Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that Putin showed “a slight shine of desperation”, according to CNN reports. 

Also Read: What Vladimir Putin did not say in his 11-minute Victory Day speech

The United Kingdom previously predicted that Moscow would revamp its assault on Mariupol and attempt to capture the entire city by Victory Day. That did not happen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a counter-speech on Monday and said reaffirmed that Kyiv will not back down and will not succumb to Russia’s offensive.

“We will never forget what our ancestors did in World War II, which killed more than eight million Ukrainians. Very soon there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine. And someone would not have any”, Zelensky said.

A spokesperson for Alexei Navalny, a Kremlin critic who has been imprisoned in Russia, wrote reacted to Putin’s address from the Red Square, according to reports from Reuters.

The spokesperson wrote in a social media post, “An old man, mad in his self-isolation, stands alone on the podium because no one came to be with him, coughs and says something about the Nazis of NATO. I don’t think even the most devoted Putin supporter will believe that this is an image of victory.”

Also Read: Does Russia’s drive to ‘denazify’ Ukraine veer close to antisemitism?

Senior diplomats and Ambassadors were also quick to react to Putin’s speech. Former United States Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote in a tweet, “On Victory Day, Putin is losing his war in Ukraine. Time for Russian soldiers to go home.”

Putin’s speech was anti-climatic for most. World leaders had previously predicted drastic moves and announcements from the Russian leader to mark this year’s Victory Day celebrations.