UK Defence Secy says Russia's actions in Ukraine 'dishonouring' country's WW II fighters

UK defence secretary Ben Wallace, on May 8, accused Russian military officials of "amorality and corruption" and said the conflict in Ukraine brings Russia "dishonour," The Guardian reported. He claimed that the Russian army's actions "dishonour" the country's World War II fighters and demanded that Russian generals face a court-martial for their actions during Russia's "illegal invasion."

According to the British Defence Secretary, "there can be no victory day, only dishonour." He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "ripping up Russia's past as well as its future." Putin has been attempting to galvanise popular support for the war in Ukraine by attending Russia's annual 9 May Victory Day parade in Moscow. Wallace said that if a government wins a war after its military has murdered and raped civilians and destroyed civilian targets, it will signal to other countries that they "simply need to be more cruel" to achieve their goals.

"Really what President Putin wants is the Russian people and the world to be awed and intimidated by the ongoing memorial to militarism. I believe the ongoing und unprovoked conflict in Ukraine does nothing but dishonour those same soldiers," Wallace said in a lecture at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, south-west London. 

Russian invasion mirroring fascism and tyranny of 70 years ago

Wallace went on to say that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "mirroring the fascism and tyranny of 70 years ago." The anniversary of the Soviet triumph over the Nazis in 1945 is commemorated on May 9 as Victory Day. Further, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the other hand, has accused Russia of forgetting all that was vital to the victors.

Notably, on February 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, declaring it as a "special military operation" aimed at "demilitarising and de-Nazifying" the country. Moreover, Ben Wallace reassured that the UK will continue to provide military and financial support to Ukraine,  However, the official stated that the UK is "focused on convincing Putin to change course in Ukraine," rather than regime change in Russia.

(With agency inputs, Image: AP)