US Secretary of Defense Austin congratulated WWII veterans, but did not mention the USSR

WASHINGTON, June 6 – RIA Novosti. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in his speech on the anniversary of the landing of Allied forces in Normandy on June 6, 1944, during World War II. on Nazism.

“To WWII veterans: we salute you. You saved the world,” he said at an American cemetery in Normandy on Tuesday.

According to Austin, 79 years ago “France and most of the rest of Europe were under the Nazi boot”, but “young people from the United States, England, Australia, Canada, France and other countries” “united for the emancipation of suffering”. humanity.” In his speech, the Pentagon chief recalled how he himself had parachuted in Normandy on the 50th anniversary of the Allied landings.

Also, the head of the US defense department spoke of the conflict in Ukraine and the training of Ukrainians “at a training point in a free Germany”, emphasizing his determination to “be with them until the end as long as necessary”.

At the same time, Austin made no mention of the role of the USSR and the contribution of the Soviet people to the victory over Nazism and the liberation of Europe and the world during his speech.

On June 6, 1944, the Second Front opened (Operation Overlord), as a result of the landing of Anglo-American troops in Normandy. Despite the fact that the landing of the Allies played an important role in the overall victory of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition over Germany and its satellites, the main front of the Second World War remained the Soviet-German, where the main enemy forces were located. concentrated.

According to many historians, the Allies deliberately delayed the opening of the Second Front and, as a result, launched Operation Overlord only in June 1944, against the background of the successful offensive of the Red Army in the Soviet-German direction.