Putin rallies anti-Western coalition at Russian Navy Day celebrations

Vladimir Putin is attempting to form an anti-Western coalition of countries, including nations from Asia and Africa. He used the Navy Day celebrations in Russia for this purpose.

Navy Day is a traditional holiday of the Russian fleet, especially popular during the Soviet era in the 1970s. In 2017, Vladimir Putin reinstated this holiday as a state event. It is celebrated throughout Russia, but most festivities occur in St. Petersburg. Here, warships sail down the Neva River to the naval base in Kronstadt, located on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland, as noted by the British Ministry of Defence in its latest intelligence update.

Putin used the celebrations to issue threats to the West. In a speech to sailors, he said the USA could trigger a Cold War-style missile crisis. He emphasized that crucial Russian targets would then be within reach of American missiles, and state and military facilities, as well as important industrial sites, could be hit within 10 minutes. He announced Russia's response.

As reported by the Unian agency, citing a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Putin is looking for allies in the fight against the West. The dictator from the Kremlin used this year’s celebrations to attempt to assemble an anti-Western coalition.

Representatives from 31 countries, most hostile or skeptical toward the USA and NATO, attended the event. Among them were representatives from Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Cuba, Libya, Myanmar, Syria, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.

Citing Ukrainian media, "such an alliance would, in Putin’s intention, be an alternative to NATO."