Muscow, May 9: Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday said the special military operation in East European country Ukraine was a necessary step to defend Russia from Western powers. Russia had started the attack on Ukraine on February 24.

Putin was addressing thousands of soldiers who had gathered at the Red Square in Moscow to commemorate Victory Day.

Russia conducts an annual military parade every year on this date as the day Russia defeated Nazi Germany during World War II in 1945.

“All plans are being fulfilled. A result will be achieved – on that account there is no doubt,” he was quoted as saying.

The Russian President was further quoted saying, “We (Russia) will never give up our love for the country, faith, traditional values, ancestral customs and respect for all peoples and cultures. As for the West, it seems to be determined to cancel these millennia-old values.”