Russia sent out just one aged tank for its Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square today as Vladimir Putin’s depleted military continues to suffer losses in Ukraine.
In his speech, watched by scores of uniformed soldiers, military officials and leaders of former Soviet nations, Putin claimed that Russia wants peace while accusing the ‘western elite’ of waging a ‘real war’ against his invading troops.
It came just hours after another barrage of cruise missiles hit several sites across Ukraine.
‘Civilisation is once again at a decisive turning point. A real war has been unleashed against our motherland,’ he said in a reference to his ongoing invasion that the Kremlin portrays as being a proxy conflict with the West.
With snipers watching the crowd closely, he welcomed soldiers fighting in Ukraine who were present at the parade, and framed his on-going illegal invasion as being akin to the Soviet fight against Nazi Germany in the Second World War, which came to an end 78 years ago – a false narrative that has nevertheless resonated at home.
‘To Russia!
To our brave armed forces! To Victory!’ Putin concluded in his speech.
As the Russian President’s address came to a close, cheers rang out across Red Square, with a gun salute and the Russian national anthem, though with a much slimmed down show of military hardware – and no aviation.
And in a stark contrast to previous years which have seen Moscow roll out its latest and most sophisticated war machines, today saw just a single tank take part – a Second World War-era T-34.
Vladimir Putin is seen addressing his country’s Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square today.
In his speech, he claimed that Russia wants peace while accusing the ‘western elite’ of waging a real war against his forces in Ukraine
The parade saw a much slimmed down show of military hardware – and no aviation – when compared to previous years.
Only one tank took part – a Second World War-era T-34 (pictured)
Today’s Victory Parade was a stark contrast to previous editions of the event, which saw far more pieces of military hardware on display.
In the 2015 Victory Day parade (pictured) Russian T-14 Armata tanks, which have a remote-controlled gun turret and reinforced capsule for the crew, are shown off in central Moscow
Pictured: Snipers are seen watching over the Victory Day parade in Moscow today as Putin delivered his annual speech.
Moscow has been on high-alert after ambiguous official reports last week that two Ukrainian drones flew into the heart of Moscow under the cover of darkness and reached the Kremlin before being shot down
Pictured: Russian president Vladimir Putin waves as he leads the Victory Day parade through Moscow’s Red Square, May 9
In a major coup for the Kremlin, at least six post-Soviet leaders including the prime minister of and the president of travelled to attend the military parade that fetes the Soviet victory in 1945.
Pictures from Moscow showed Putin arriving and shaking hands with military officials, before delivering his speech.
Hundreds of uniformed soldiers then began their parade, marching through Moscow’s famous square.
Dozens of military vehicles – including armoured personnel carriers, trucks and intercontinental ballistic missile launchers – also rolled through the city.
Observers noted, however, that few Russian tanks were on display. The only model that appeared in the parade was the T-34, which was used in the Second World War.
As such, the parade looked more modest than usual: There were no military aircraft flying over Red Square, and fewer pieces of military equipment were displayed.
For the first time in years, the parade ended in under an hour.
The pared-down celebrations come after ambiguous official reports last week that two Ukrainian drones flew into the heart of Moscow under the cover of darkness and reached the Kremlin before being shot down. The Kremlin billed it as an attempt at Putin’s life; Ukraine denied involvement.
Only some 8,000 troops marched in Red Square this year – the lowest number since 2008.
Even the parade in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, featured some 13,000 soldiers, and last year, 11,000 troops took part.
Russia also enacted a major security clampdown for the commemorations. Authorities curbed the use of drones and ride-sharing services in Moscow and even jet skis on the canals of St.
Petersburg.
State television showed Putin stood next to World War II veterans as he delivered his 10-minute speech, in which he repeated familiar messages he has delivered many times in the nearly 15 months of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
‘We have repulsed international terrorism, we will protect the inhabitants of Donbas, we will ensure our security,’ he said, despite Ukraine shaping up for another counteroffensive having pushed Russia back east last year.
To troops fighting in Ukraine, some of whom were at the Parade, he said: ‘There is nothing more important now than your combat effort. The security of the country rests on you today, the future of our statehood and our people depend on you.’
Putin insisted that the West’s ‘untamed ambitions, arrogance and impunity’ are to blame for the conflict.
He claimed ‘Western globalist elites’ were sowing Russophobia and aggressive nationalism, while the Ukrainian people had become ‘hostages to a state coup’ and to the ambitions of the West.
Despite ordering his troops across the border in February last year and repeatedly attacking civilian centres in Ukraine, Putin claimed he wants peace.
‘We want to see our future peaceful and stable.
We believe that any ideology of supremacy is not acceptable to us. However, the western elite and globalists are insisting on their exceptional character,’ he said.
‘They [Western countries] are destroying traditional family values that make a person a person, and they are dictating their will to others.
Their rule to others. In essence, this is a system of robbing others, and a system of violence,’ he added.
In a re-writing of history – incorrectly framing the Soviet Union as the nation fully responsible for the defeat of Nazi Germany – he said of the West: ‘They have forgotten who destroyed that evil, who defended their motherlands, who liberated the people of Europe.
We see that in a number of countries.’
Despite this, Putin said the memory of World War Two was sacred and paid tribute to those who fought against Nazis, including the armies of the United States and Britain, and also to China’s fight against the Japanese.
Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has promoted a patriotic cult around the 1945 Soviet victory over the Nazis, used to stoke patriotism and boost his standing as the heir of Soviet power.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two, including many millions in Ukraine, but eventually pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945 – two months before the Western Allied troops entered the German capital.
Along with the 1812 defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the crushing of Nazi Germany is Russia’s most revered military triumph, though both catastrophic invasions from the west left Russia deeply sensitive about its Western borders.
It claims its invasion of Ukraine is in part to protect these.
Kremlin officials specifically cite the expansion of NATO, which recently welcoming Finland into the alliance. European nations point to Russia’s aggression as the reason why countries want to join.
Putin did not address the challenges facing Russia as its forces prepare for the expected major counter-offensive by Ukraine, or outline any path to victory, as he continues to take heavy losses.Putin claims his so-called ‘special military operation’ is an effort to bring about the ‘denazification’ of a belligerent imperial power backed by the west, a narrative that has been refuted by Kyiv and its allies – who say the invasion is an imperialistic land grab by Russia with the goal of eradicating a sovereign nation.
Pictured: Russian soldiers march during Tuesday’s Victory Day parade through Moscow’s Red Square
Pictured: Hundreds of Russian servicemen march through Moscow’s Red Square on May 9 after Putin’s Victory Day address
Pictured: Russian servicemen march in downtown during the country’s Victory Day parade marking the anniversary of the end of the Second World War, 78 years ago
Ceremonial soldiers parade during 78th anniversary of the Victory Day in Red Square in Moscow, Russia on May 9
Pictured: Vladimir Putin speaks in front of St.
Basil’s Cathedral in central Moscow on Tuesday
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu drives an Aurus cabriolet during a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9
People watch Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile systems and other armoured vehicles driving along a street before a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia May 9
Dozens of Russian service members take part in a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9
Pictured: Dozens of Russian servicemen gather in Moscow’s Red Square for today’s parade
Pictured: Ceremonial soldiers parade during 78th anniversary of the Victory Day in Red Square in Moscow, Russia on May 9
Pictured: Putin is seen on a big screen in Red Square as he delivers his speech during the May 9 Victory Day parade
Pictured: Members of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) are seen marching through Red Square in Moscow, May 9
Pictured: Members of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) are seen marching through Red Square in Moscow, May 9
Pictured: Hundreds of armed Russian servicemen are seen marching through Moscow’s Red Square on May 9
Pictured: Armed soldiers are seen taking part in Tuesday’s Victory Day parade after Putin delivered his speech
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech during the Victory Day military parade marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Red square in Moscow, May 9
Pictured: Hundreds of soldiers are seen taking part in the parade on Tuesday, May 9
Russian soldiers march toward Red Square to attend a Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Russian service members march in columns before a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia May 9
Russian soldiers march toward Red Square to attend a Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9
Pictured: Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems drive in front of the Kremlin in Moscow, May 9, after the parade
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes to President Vladimir Putin during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on May 9
Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, arrives for the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on May 9
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko (centre) attends a Victory Day military parade on Red Square in Moscow, May 9
Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdymukhamedov attends the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attends a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attends a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9