Putin evokes Stalingrad to predict victory over 'new Nazism' in Ukraine - Reuters

VOLGOGRAD, Russia, Feb 2 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin evoked the tone of the Soviet service that defeated Nazi German forces astatine Stalingrad 80 years agone to state connected Thursday that Russia would decision a Ukraine supposedly successful the grip of a caller incarnation of Nazism.

In a fiery code successful Volgograd, known arsenic Stalingrad until 1961, Putin lambasted Germany for helping to limb Ukraine and said, not for the archetypal time, that helium was acceptable to gully connected Russia's full arsenal, which includes atomic weapons.

"Unfortunately we spot that the ideology of Nazism successful its modern signifier and manifestation again straight threatens the information of our country," Putin told an assemblage of service officers and members of section patriotic and younker groups.

"Again and again we person to repel the aggression of the corporate West. It's unthinkable but it's a fact: we are again being threatened with German Leopard tanks with crosses connected them."

Russian officials person been drafting parallels with the conflict against the Nazis ever since Russian forces entered Ukraine astir a twelvemonth ago.

Ukraine - which was portion of the Soviet Union and itself suffered devastation astatine the hands of Hitler's forces - rejects those parallels arsenic spurious pretexts for a warfare of imperial conquest.

Stalingrad was the bloodiest conflict of World War Two, erstwhile the Soviet Red Army, astatine a outgo of implicit 1 cardinal casualties, broke the backmost of German penetration forces successful 1942-3.

Putin evoked what helium said was the tone of the defenders of Stalingrad to explicate wherefore helium thought Russia would prevail successful Ukraine, saying the World War Two conflict had go a awesome of "the indestructible quality of our people".

"Those who gully European countries, including Germany, into a caller warfare with Russia, and ... expect to triumph a triumph implicit Russia connected the battlefield, seemingly don't recognize that a modern warfare with Russia volition beryllium rather antithetic for them," helium added.

"We don't nonstop our tanks to their borders but we person the means to respond, and it won't extremity with the usage of armoured vehicles, everyone indispensable recognize that."

VICTORY PARADE

As Putin finished speaking, the assemblage gave him a lasting ovation.

Putin had earlier laid flowers astatine the sedate of the Soviet marshal who oversaw the defence of Stalingrad and visited the city's main memorial complex, wherever helium held a minute's soundlessness successful honour of those who died during the battle.

Thousands of radical lined Volgograd's streets to ticker a triumph parade arsenic planes flew overhead and modern and World War Two-era tanks and armoured vehicles rolled past.

Some of the modern vehicles had the missive 'V' painted connected them, a awesome utilized by Russia's forces successful Ukraine.

Irina Zolotoreva, a 61-year-old who said her relatives had fought astatine Stalingrad, saw a parallel with Ukraine.

"Our state is warring for justice, for freedom. We got triumph successful 1942 and that's an illustration for today's generation. I deliberation we'll triumph again present immoderate happens."

The focal constituent for the commemorations was the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex, connected a elevation overlooking the River Volga dominated by a hulking statue called The Motherland Calls - of a pistillate brandishing a elephantine sword.

The five-month-long conflict reduced the metropolis that bore Soviet person Josef Stalin's sanction to rubble, portion claiming an estimated 2 cardinal dormant and wounded connected some sides.

A caller bust of Stalin was erected successful Volgograd connected Wednesday on with 2 others, of Soviet marshals Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilyevsky.

Despite Stalin's grounds of presiding implicit a famine that killed millions and governmental repression that killed hundreds of thousands, Russian politicians and schoolhouse textbooks person successful caller years stressed his relation arsenic a palmy wartime person who turned the Soviet Union into a superpower.

Reporting by Tatiana Gomozova Writing by Andrew Osborn Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Kevin Liffey

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