Trump's WWII claim is ‘pompous nonsense'
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed US President Donald Trump's claim that America played the primary role in winning World War II as 'pompous nonsense.'
Medvedev made the comment on his VK page on Saturday, in response to Trump's plan to designate May 8 as 'American Victory Day'.
'Trump recently announced that the US made the main contribution to the victory in World War II and that he would establish a holiday on May 8. A holiday is not bad. But the first conclusion is pompous nonsense,' Medvedev wrote.
Earlier this week, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he 'will create a new holiday called AMERICAN VICTORY DAY, to be celebrated on May 8.'
He went on to say: 'This date marks the formal surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied Forces in World War II, ending the war in Europe. AMERICAN VICTORY DAY will celebrate the heroes who helped vanquish tyranny and secure liberty for generations to come.'
Trump also said he wants to rename Veterans Day, a federal holiday celebrated on November 11, to 'Victory Day for World War I,' adding that the US 'won both wars.'
In response, Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, highlighted the Soviet Union's role in defeating Nazi Germany, stressing that the Red Army bore heavy losses and 'liberated ungrateful Europe.'
'Our people gave 27 million lives of their sons and daughters for the sake of destroying damned fascism,' he wrote. 'Victory Day is ours and it is on May 9. That's how it was, is, and always will be!'
Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is grateful to the US for its support during WWII, but the USSR would have defeated Nazi Germany even without the assistance. 'The famous Lend-Lease indeed helped us. We received vehicles, airplanes, ammunition, and tanks. And indeed, without this, it would have been very difficult.'
The Lend-Lease program was a US government initiative that provided allies with military supplies, equipment, food, and strategic raw materials. The Soviet Union received aid valued at around $200 billion in today's terms, Peskov said. He noted, however, that the assistance was not free. Russia, as the USSR's successor state, completed its financial obligations related to the Lend-Lease program in 2006.
Nazi Germany officially surrendered to the Allied forces on May 8, 1945, following the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops. The capitulation took effect after midnight in Moscow. May 8 is observed as Victory in Europe Day, with Russia commemorating the occasion on May 9.
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