Russian President Vladimir Putin used his Victory Day address on Monday to thread his war in Ukraine into the theme of a long-term struggle against the West.

A celebration of the Allies’ Second World War victory over the Third Reich, Victory Day evokes Russian patriotic zeal. Considering that more than 26 million Soviet citizens (including 11.4 million Soviet soldiers) were killed in that war, approaching 15% of the prewar Soviet population, Victory Day has an almost sacred significance in Russia. Addressing the Russian military directly, Putin declared, “You are fighting for the Motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War.”