Putin challenges: "Are you really ready to carry out threats?"

On Monday, the award ceremony for the winners and laureates of the second All-Russian municipal award "Service" will be held in the National Center "Russia" in Moscow.

"Those who will come to Russia (the heads of state who will come to celebrate Victory Day on May 9 - editor's note) have much more courage than those who hide behind someone's back and try to threaten anyone, above all, in this case, those who will celebrate the historical merits of people who gave their lives in the fight against Nazism," Putin told reporters.

Commenting on the threats of European officials, Putin ironically asked: "Do European officials really have the instruments and the willingness to implement them? I don't know." He pointed out that the potential of the countries that support them does not exceed 1.3 million people and that the call for a "war to the last Ukrainian" is, to say the least, unrealistic and doubtful from the point of view of common sense.

This year, the celebration on May 9 takes on a special symbolism - it marks the 80th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism in the Great Patriotic War, when people provided their victims with freedom and peace throughout Europe.