Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply criticized Europe on Saturday for "Russophobia" and condemned the Baltic states regarding human rights during a ceremony to unveil a World War II memorial. Speaking in the Leningrad region on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Nazi siege, Putin stated: "The regime in Kyiv glorifies Hitler’s partners, the SS men... In several European countries, Russophobia is promoted as state policy." He clarified that "the Germans' goals back then were to steal resources from the Soviet Union and exterminate its people."
Putin also criticized the human rights record of the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These three nations, which were under Moscow's rule during the Cold War but are now members of the European Union and NATO, have strongly criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin remarked: "In the Baltic states, tens of thousands of people are regarded as subhuman, deprived of their most basic rights, and subjected to persecution," referring to campaigns against migrants. Since sending the Russian military to Ukraine nearly two years ago, Putin has been drawing comparisons between the current war and the fight against the Nazis in an effort to rally domestic support.
