On World War Two anniversary, Zelensky says evil has returned

"The evil has returned. Again!" Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "In a different form, under different slogans, but for the same purpose."

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a session of a parliament where British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses Ukrainian lawmakers via videolink, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 3, 2022.  (photo credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a session of a parliament where British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses Ukrainian lawmakers via videolink, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 3, 2022.
(photo credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday evil has returned to Ukraine as he gave an emotional address for Victory Day, when Europe commemorates the formal surrender of Germany to the Allies in World War Two.

On World War Two anniversary, Zelenskiy says evil has returned, May 8, 2022 (credit: Reuters).

The life that soldiers fought for in that war came to an end on Feb. 24 when Russian forces invaded, he said in a video message.

"The evil has returned. Again!" Zelensky said. "In a different form, under different slogans, but for the same purpose."

But he said Ukraine and its allies will win.

"No evil can escape responsibility, it cannot hide in a bunker," he added.

 A view shows a graves of a civilian killed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 3, 2022. A grave board reads: ''Kolesnikov Anatoly Ivanovich''. (credit: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO)
A view shows a graves of a civilian killed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 3, 2022. A grave board reads: ''Kolesnikov Anatoly Ivanovich''. (credit: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO)

Nazi leader Adolf Hitler spent the last days of his life in a bunker in Berlin where he committed suicide in the final days of the war.

Moscow calls its actions since Feb. 24 a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and rid it [of] what it calls "Nazis" and anti-Russian nationalism fomented by the West. Ukraine and the West say Russia launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

The invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands and displaced nearly 10 million people. It has left Russia in the grip of tough Western sanctions and has raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the West.

In Russia, Victory Day on May 9 is one of the country's most important national events - a remembrance of the enormous sacrifices made by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany.