Operation Barbarossa, June 22, 1941: Nazi Germany Invades the Soviet Union: Putin addresses State Duma
On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched perhaps the largest ever invasion by one country against another.
Operation Barbarossa involved up to four million combat and support troops – Hitler’s fatal error, miscalculating, overreaching, hubris and arrogance defeating him.
Red Army efforts smashed the vaunted Wehrmacht, the Soviet Union was largely responsible for freeing Europe from the scourge of Nazism.
Addressing Russia’s lower house State Duma, Putin paid tribute to the Red Army:
“This day in 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the USSR, but Soviet soldiers defended the country to the death. We will always remember their sacrifice.”
“Back then, Western powers tried to defeat the Soviet Union. The international community did not pay any attention to that fact that dangerous Nazi regime arose in Europe.”
“These days, the international community makes the same mistakes. The main global threat is terrorism, but NATO continues to expand its presence near Russian borders.”
Its aggressive actions and rhetoric force Moscow “to respond in the same way…pay(ing) special attention to strengthening our country’s defense capabilities.”
Citing “bloc-like thinking,” Putin said it’s “necessary to create a non-aligned, equal for all states system of collective security.”
“Russia is ready to discuss this important issue and has repeatedly declared its readiness to engage in dialogue” – so far with no positive Western response.
Putin urged “unit(ing) in the fight against international terrorism” without explaining its state sponsorship, its inability to exist without it.
America’s rage for dominance is humanity’s greatest threat – state-sponsored terrorism, using ISIS and likeminded groups as imperial foot soldiers, along with its empire of bases threatening world peace.
Unless responsibly challenged, we’re all doomed.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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