Azernews.Az

Ukraine warned Tuesday against any foreign troop participation in Russia’s May 9 parade to mark 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany, saying it would be “unacceptable” and seen as helping Moscow “whitewash its war crimes,” Azernews reports, citing Arab News.

A handful of countries have in recent years sent their militaries to take part in Russia’s traditional May 9 parade — a showpiece event that has become the country’s most important public holiday under President Vladimir Putin’s quarter-century in power.

“The Russian army has committed and continues to commit atrocities in Ukraine on a scale that Europe has not seen since World War II,” Kyiv’s foreign ministry said.

“It is this army that will march on Red Square in Moscow on May 9. These people are not liberators of Europe, they are occupiers and war criminals.”

Kyiv said marching with Russian soldiers would be considered as “sharing responsibility” for Moscow’s actions during its three-year Ukraine invasion.

“To march side by side with them is to share responsibility for the blood of murdered Ukrainian children, civilians and military, not to honor the victory over Nazism.”

Ukraine was one of the most devastated countries during World War II, with Kyiv saying it “touched every Ukrainian family.”

The foreign ministry also said that six million Ukrainians fought in the Red Army — with five million Ukrainian civilians killed and three million Ukrainian troops.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin attributed the victory over Nazism in Europe as a feat primarily achieved by the Russian nation.

Central Asian troops have often taken part in the Moscow parade.
The Kremlin has this year not ruled out that North Korean soldiers could take part for the first time, after Pyongyang’s troops helped Moscow oust Ukrainian soldiers from Russia’s Kursk region.