In response to Russia’s actions, the U.S. Russia’s illegal invasion and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, as well as the continued beleaguerment of eastern Ukraine by Russian-supported proxies, have caused troubling clouds to loom over Eastern Europe, including over Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three key North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Baltic allies. More than half a century after Operation Long Thrust, a modern-day version of this forgotten Cold War deterrence operation reprised itself in Eastern Europe as the United States instituted Operation Atlantic Resolve. As the post-Cold War period unfolded, many thought that a new Russia would, with fits and starts, join the Western community of nations, while the Central and Eastern European lands traditionally caught between Russia and the West would finally find security and maintain peaceful relations with their neighbors. That bold demonstration was part of a difficult, and potentially incendiary, period that nearly all experts and observers thought had expired with the end of the Cold War in 1991. Too small to be an offensive threat, but formidable enough to be serious, Operation Long Thrust skirted the fine line between resolute deterrence and go-to-war provocation, and allowed the United States to avoid becoming militarily embroiled with strident adversaries in East Germany and the Soviet Union. It is the 72nd anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War on May 9, during which Russia will hold military parades in 28 cities.On August 20, 1961, an American armored battle group of the 18 th Infantry Regiment stationed in West Germany crossed the heavily militarized border at Helmstedt and rolled its way approximately 100 miles along the autobahn across Soviet-controlled East Germany into West Berlin. Putin also conveyed his deepest gratitude to war veterans and home front workers, wishing them good health, well-being and longevity, the statement said. The president also said that he is confident that "the traditions of brotherly friendship and mutual assistance strengthened during the war will continue to serve as a solid foundation for developing allied partnership, promoting cooperation among our countries and ensuring regional stability and security". Putin underscored that uniting efforts to fight any attempts to distort history and justify the criminal acts of fascism and Nazism would be the best way to pay tribute to the liberators, it added. "In his congratulatory messages, the Russian President emphasized that the Victory Day is a sacred date and a symbol of the unparalleled heroism of our fathers and grandfathers who fought shoulder to shoulder on the war front and who worked tirelessly on the home front to save the Motherland and the entire mankind from fascism," the Kremlin statement said. MOSCOW, May 8 (Xinhua) - Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as the citizens of Georgia and Ukraine, on the 72nd anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, or World War II, the Kremlin press service said Monday. Russia marks on Monday the 71st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Members of a military band march during the Victory Day parade in Moscow May 9, 2016.
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