Russian Spokesman Denies Trump’s Claims on Soviet Union’s Role in World War II
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskow has rejected the statements of US President Donald Trump, who described the Soviet Union’s role in World War II as “supportive”. According to Peskow, the Soviet Union paid the highest price for the victory over fascism, while the US provided the necessary help.
“We will always remember and never forget the US help during World War II. We hope that the Americans and President Trump will share our joy on the 80th anniversary of the victory” Peskow said.
Trump had stated on January 22 that he loved the Russians and did not want to harm Russia, saying, “Russia helped us win World War II, although it lost nearly 60 million people.” However, Peskow pointed out that Trump overestimated the Soviet Union’s losses by more than double and mixed them with the total number of victims of all nations in World War II.
Peskov reminded that between Europe and the US, there is an ocean, and World War II, as well as the current conflict in Ukraine, took place on a different continent.
“One should never forget: the war and the death of tens of millions of people took place on a different continent for America. Our country, the Soviet Union, bore the main burden in the fight against fascism” Peskow said.
At the same time, Peskow acknowledged that it was the US that helped the Soviet Union and made a significant contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany. However, he emphasized that there was a significant nuance. As an example, he cited the conflict in Ukraine, in which the US makes a profit by selling expensive energy resources to Europe and awarding contracts for the production and modernization of military technology to its companies.
According to Peskow, the Americans create new taxes and jobs and promote their own technologies at the same time.
He also mentioned that Russia only stopped paying the US under the Lend-Lease program after Vladimir Putin came to power.
“Even that was a business” Peskow said.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had invited the Armenian leadership to Moscow, with the possibility of connecting the visit to the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War in May. Additionally, it was reported that soldiers of the White Russian armed forces will participate in the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9, 2025.
Moreover, Russia has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory. Russian Presidential Adviser Yuri Ushakov stated that this date is equally celebrated in both Russia and China.