Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday repeated a claim that “neo-Nazis” were operating in Ukraine — an allegation he has used to justify his military intervention there — on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“Forgetting the lessons of history leads to the repetition of terrible tragedies,” Putin said. “This is evidenced by the crimes against civilians, ethnic cleansing and punitive actions organized by neo-Nazis in Ukraine. It is against that evil that our soldiers are bravely fighting.”