The Kremlin on Tuesday said that it rejected a call by the EU foreign policy chief a day prior for boycotting Russia’s Victory Day celebrations in Moscow next month as incorrect.
On Monday, Kaja Kallas warned EU member states and candidate countries to not attend the events scheduled for May 9, going on to urge them and representatives of EU institutions to visit Ukraine “as much as possible” to show solidarity with Kyiv.
She expressed that any participation in the events “will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe.”
“We pay attention to her very, very harsh statements. We do not consider them correct,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in the Russian capital.
Arguing it seems to Russia that there are countries in Europe that reject such rhetoric, Peskov said sovereign European countries must assess Kallas’ remarks, which he defined as “threats.”
He went on to accuse European countries of continuing to support Kyiv’s “desire” to continue the war in Ukraine against the backdrop of the ongoing peace talks between Russia and the US.
Victory Day is a holiday celebrated in Russia and various former Soviet countries in commemoration of Nazi Germany’s surrender during World War II, defined by many post-Soviet states as the Great Patriotic War.
As part of events surrounding the May 9 celebrations, an annual military parade is held at the Red Square located in Russia’s capital Moscow, which has also been attended by foreign leaders.