Like President Vladimir Putin, Russian generals are complicit in crimes in their war in Ukraine and should be tried before a court-martial, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said.

Speaking on the day that Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany with military parades, the minister said that Putin and his army top “reflect the fascism and tyranny of 77 years ago”.

In his speech, Putin praised the soldiers fighting in eastern Ukraine for “the security of Russia”. However, Wallace thinks it is conceivable that the Ukrainian military will defeat them and call on Putin to recognize that he is on the losing side.

There can be “no day of victory, only shame and certain defeat in Ukraine,” the minister said at the National Army Museum in London for the generals and Putin. He accused them of “hijacking” the proud history of their predecessors in the Soviet period. All professional military personnel should be shocked by the conduct of the Russian military, Wallace said. “Russia is not what it used to be.”

The United Kingdom is one of the main pillars for Ukraine when it comes to military and other support.