🎙 Address by President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the military parade marking the 79th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 (May 9, 2024)

💬 Today we are honouring our fathers and grandfathers and grand-grandfathers. They defended their native land and crushed Nazism, liberated the peoples of Europe and displayed unparalleled heroism in combat and on the home front.

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The West would love to forget the lessons of World War II, but we remember that the destiny of humankind was decided during the colossal battles of Moscow, Leningrad, Rzhev, Stalingrad, Kursk, Kharkov, Minsk, Smolensk and Kiev, and in the intense and bloody fighting from Murmansk to the Caucasus and the Crimea.

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But let me emphasise: Russia has never belittled the significance of the Second Front or that of Allied assistance. We honour the valor of all members of the Anti-Hitler Coalition, the Resistance Movement, the underground movement and guerrillas, as well as the courage displayed by the peoples of China fighting for their independence against militarist Japan's aggression.

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Russia is now going through a difficult, watershed moment of its history. The fate of our Motherland and its future depend on each us.

Today, on Victory Day, we feel it ever more sharply and never fail to draw inspiration from our generation of the brave, noble and wise victors, and the way they cherished friendship and remained firm in the face of adversity, always trusted themselves and their country, and had a sincere and selfless love for their Motherland.

We are celebrating Victory Day against the backdrop of the Special Military Operation. All of those engaged in it, on the frontlines, are our heroes. We are humbled by your fortitude and self-sacrifice. All of Russia stands with you.

Our veterans, too, believe in you, and they are worried about you. That they remain involved emotionally in your lives and heroism is an unbreakable tie that binds this heroic generation together.

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🇮🇳🇷🇺 India entitled to retaliate against G7 over Russian diamond ban

“There are concerns about revealing trade secrets, increasing costs if Indian polished diamonds have to be routed through Belgium to verify if they are Russian-origin. PM Modi has asked us to escalate it with EU,” Federal Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on G7 ban on Russian diamond.

💎 He went on to say that, under the leadership of PM Modi, the government has created policies that offer incentives for lab-grown diamonds.

“Attempts are being made to weaken the diamond industry of India in the garb of Russia-Ukraine conflict as traders were forced to send their diamonds to Belgium to certify whether it’s of Russian origin or not but PM Modi asked me to take action on it,” Goyal stated.