In a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the siege of Leningrad, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of glorifying Adolf Hitler's SS killing squads and pledged to "eradicate Nazism." Putin has frequently relied on World War II victory narratives to justify his current offensive against Ukraine, despite independent experts debunking his claim that Ukraine is a fascist state.

Speaking near his hometown of Saint Petersburg, Putin criticized the government in Kyiv, stating that it glorifies Hitler's accomplices, the SS. Promising to do everything possible to suppress and finally eradicate Nazism, Putin emphasized that those who follow the ideology of Nazi executioners are doomed.

However, both Ukraine and independent scholars have firmly rejected Putin's attempts to classify Kyiv as Nazi sympathizers. The Ukrainian government, along with the West, has consistently dismissed these claims.

The event also saw the unveiling of a new memorial complex dedicated to the victims of the siege of Leningrad, a crucial part of Putin's personal identity and of great importance to millions of Russians. During the 872-day encirclement by German forces in World War II, more than 800,000 people perished due to starvation, disease, and bombardment. Earlier in the day, Putin paid his respects at a cemetery where over 400,000 victims were buried in mass graves.

While Putin was born after the war, he has personal ties to the siege as his elder brother died from starvation during that period. He recounted his mother's harrowing experience of fainting and being laid out in the street alongside corpses presumed dead from hunger.

Critics have accused the Kremlin of manipulating its World War II history to justify its offensive actions against Ukraine and the tightening of domestic repression. The Soviet Union suffered approximately 27 million casualties during the war, more than any other country. Putin has consistently emphasized the memory of the war as a central part of Russia's national psyche, encouraging parades, monuments, cultural events, and school curricula to honor the heroism of Soviet soldiers.

However, the Kremlin has also sought to suppress discussions surrounding controversial aspects of the conflict, such as the Soviet Union's secret alliance with Germany in 1939 to divide Poland and the massacre of over 20,000 Poles by Joseph Stalin's secret police in Katyn.

In a separate note, The Moscow Times, an independent news source, has come under fire from the Russian government, being labeled a "foreign agent." The publication has vehemently objected to this classification, asserting the importance of its unbiased reporting on Russia. The journalists at The Moscow Times are determined to continue their critical mission but require support from the public to sustain their efforts.