Putin has let go of Kyiv — and that’s good news

In reality, this is a blatant distortion. There was no defense of Minsk. The city was captured just four days after Nazi Germany launched its attack on the Soviet Union. Even Lviv held out longer — six days.

Putin’s falsehood was quickly exposed online. Many pointed out that he deliberately avoided mentioning Kyiv — a city that was, in fact, heroically defended. But listening to the full speech makes it clear: the omission of Kyiv was no accident.

Putin said: “We honor the heroes who defended our cities — Minsk, Leningrad, Sevastopol.” Kyiv is not among “our cities.” And that’s a good thing. It means that even for Putin, Kyiv is not a Russian city.

But when he refers to Sevastopol as a “Russian city,” that’s a deliberate manipulation. Sevastopol is not Russian — it’s simply under temporary occupation.

No matter how the Kremlin leader twists history, the so-called “heroic defense of Minsk” he’s trying to impress the world with simply never happened.

Source

About the author. Mykola Kniazhytskyi, journalist, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of blogs or columns.