In a major speech in Moscow’s Red Square, Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his invasion of Ukraine, saying it was needed to preemptively rebuff NATO. But Putin did not declare a broader war in Ukraine as some had predicted. Putin spoke earlier today as part of a Victory Day celebration to mark the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

President Vladimir Putin: “Preparations were openly underway for another punitive operation in Donbas and an invasion of our historic lands, including Crimea. Kyiv has announced a possible acquisition of nuclear weapons. The NATO bloc began active military development of the territories adjacent to ours. This was an absolutely unacceptable threat, systematically created for us and right on our borders. … Russia has preemptively rebuffed the aggression. It was forced, timely and the only right decision, the decision of a sovereign, strong, independent country.”