Photo/Illutration Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9. (Pool Photo via AP)

It boggles the mind that an iron-fisted leader who is waging war against a neighboring country had the temerity to boast of thwarting a dictatorship’s attempted invasion.

If Russian President Vladimir Putin genuinely wishes to learn from history, he should immediately end the war in Ukraine and order his troops home.

Russia on May 9 celebrated its victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. In his address, Putin insisted that Russia today is the victim of a “real war” by accusing the United States and Europe of conniving to use the conflict in Ukraine to destroy his country. This is an utterly groundless accusation against the international community.

In fact, this year’s celebrations were attended only by Belarus and a handful of former Soviet satellite states.

In the past, participants included not only the leaders of the Allied nations such as France and the United States, but also the heads of the defeated Axis nations, including Japan and Germany.

Their presence represented their commitment to peace, solidarity and reconciliation, whereby the war dead on both sides were equally mourned.

Putin bears a grave responsibility for turning Victory Day into a symbol of isolation and hypocrisy.

And the mood was especially subdued this year.

It reflected the reality of Russia’s inability to extricate itself from the quagmire of a war that started more than a year ago.

The situation at home is also becoming more disquieting, as evidenced by a recent drone attack on the Kremlin where the presidential offices are located. And this year’s scaled-back military parade was proof that Russia now has few weapons to spare for display.

In Moscow, the annual mass parade of citizens carrying the photos of soldiers who fought in World War II was canceled. We believe the Kremlin leadership feared the possibility of protesters staging antiwar demonstrations by hoisting pictures of victims of the war in Ukraine instead.

Putin appears to be set on suppressing popular discontent at home through sheer force, following his recent decision to raise the maximum sentence for treason to life imprisonment.

Russia is also cramping down on freedom of the press. In March, an American journalist was falsely arrested for spying. It is hard to believe that such a reign of terror exists today.

The primary victims of the war in Ukraine are the Ukrainians whose land is being invaded.

However, an estimate puts the maximum number of dead Russian troops at 70,000, a figure that includes prisoners rounded up by private military contractors, even though this is banned by law in Russia.

For Putin, soldiers are obviously nothing more than “expendable resources” simply to save his face.

It will be difficult for Putin to escape the historical verdict that he is a benighted leader who has driven his nation into a reckless war and destroyed the lives and future of his people.

Still, it remains a fact that only Russia can end the conflict. We hope Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as chair of the Group of Seven summit this month, will take the lead in reinforcing aid to Ukraine by getting the G-7 nations to try harder to urge Putin against rushing into further catastrophe.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 10

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