Putin channels victory over Hitler to spur Russian army in Ukraine

He was addressing Russia on one of its most important annual holidays, when the nation honours the 27 million Soviet citizens who lost their lives in the struggle to defeat Adolf Hitler

Russian President Vladimir Putin evoked the memory of Soviet heroism in World War Two to inspire his army fighting in Ukraine, but offered no new road map to victory and acknowledged the cost in Russian soldiers' lives.

Addressing massed ranks of service personnel on Red Square on the 77th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Putin condemned what he called external threats to weaken and divide Russia, and repeated familiar arguments that he had used to justify Russia's invasion on Feb. 24 - that NATO was creating threats right next to its borders.

He directly addressed soldiers fighting in the Donbas region