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What Putin won’t tell you about Russia’s ‘Victory Day’

by Chris York and Nick Allard and Vladyslav Samusenko May 8, 2025 5:52 PM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which mark the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, are one of the country’s biggest public events of the year. The annual event is a key part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda efforts to justify aggression against what the Kremlin falsely describes as “Nazis” in Ukraine.

But Putin’s version of history is very different from reality and omits several major factors that helped the Soviet Union defeat Nazi Germany.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sat down with author, historian, and President of the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland Andrej Lushnycky who sheds some light on the things Putin would rather you didn’t know about World War II.

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11:51 PM

Trump 'very surprised, disappointed' at Russian attacks on Ukraine amid peace talks.

"I've gotten to see things I was very surprised at. Rockets being shot into cities like Kyiv during a negotiation that was maybe very close to ending," Trump said during a news conference in the Oval Office. "All of a sudden rockets got shot into a couple of cities and people died. I saw thing I was surprised at and I don't like being surprised, so I'm very disappointed in that way."
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