‘Unbelievable But True’: Putin Compares Ukraine Invasion To War Against Nazi Germany

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was speaking at the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, said history was repeating as he cited Germany’s decision to send tanks to Ukraine.

In a speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday compared Ukraine's invasion to the fight against Nazi Germany.

Putin, who was speaking at an event in Volgograd, said history was repeating as he cited Germany’s decision to send tanks to Ukraine, according to The Guardian report. "It's unbelievable but true," he said. "We are again being threatened by German Leopard tanks."

In its latest aggression against Ukraine, Germany has agreed to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, prompting the Russian energy industry firm Fores to offer five million roubles to the first Russian soldier to destroy or capture one.

The Battle of Stalingrad took place between August 23, 1942, to February 2, 1943. The battle was considered the deadliest during the Second World War in which an estimated two million people were killed.

During the war, Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad, later renamed Volgograd. The Soviet army captured nearly 91,000 German troops, marking a major turning point in the war.

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Putin has tried to represent the ongoing war as a battle against Nazis, who he says are leading the government in Kyiv.

"Now, unfortunately, we see that the ideology of Nazism, already in its modern guise, in its modern manifestation, again creates direct threats to the security of our country," the BBC quoted the President as saying. "Again and again we have to repel the aggression of the collective West."

Germany is one of many allies helping Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The 70-year-old leader also hinted about moving beyond conventional weapons. "Those who hope to defeat Russia on the battlefield do not understand, it seems, that a modern war with Russia will be very different for them," said Putin. "We are not sending our tanks to their borders, but we have the means to respond. It won't be limited to the use of armoured hardware. Everyone must understand this."