![]() “Normally they show off all the really modern stuff, and they didn’t have any of those. But so much of that military might has already been mauled in Ukraine that Russia has very little to show on its parade in Red Square,” said Keir Giles, a Russia expert at London’s Chatham House think tank.Īs a display of military hardware it was “very underwhelming,” said Michael Clarke, visiting professor of war studies at King’s College London, noting that the T-34, the iconic World War II tank, was the only tank on display. ![]() “This is supposed to be a showpiece for Russian military might. The Kremlin’s forces deployed in Ukraine are defending a front line stretching more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles), presumably thinning the ranks of troops available for such displays. “We’re upset, but that’s all right it will be better in the future.” There are no tanks,” said Yelena Orlova, watching the vehicles rumble down Moscow’s Novy Arbat Avenue after leaving Red Square. There was no fly-over of military jets, and the event lasted less than the usual hour. Even the procession in 2020, the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, featured some 13,000 soldiers, and last year, 11,000 troops took part. Some 8,000 troops took part in the parade in Moscow’s Red Square on Tuesday-the lowest number since 2008. But this year’s celebrations were markedly smaller, at least partially because of security concerns after several drone attacks have been reported inside Russia. Putin has often used patriotic rhetoric that harkens back to the earlier war in an effort to rally his citizens and forces-and May 9 is one of the most important dates in the Russian political calendar. “A real war has been unleashed against our motherland.” “Today civilization is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said at the annual commemorations celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Kyiv and its Western allies say they pose no such threat and that Moscow’s war is meant to deter Western influence in a country that Russia considers part of its sphere of influence. The Russian leader has repeatedly sought to paint his invasion of Ukraine as necessary to defend against a Western threat. Ukrainian authorities said air defenses destroyed 23 of 25 missiles launched. Putin’s remarks came just hours after Moscow fired its latest barrage of cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than 14 months ago. A real war has again been launched against our motherland," Putin said.Īs if to underscore the comparison, Putin noted Russian servicemen and military families from what the Kremlin calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine were in attendance alongside WWII veterans.President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that the West has unleashed “a real war” against Russia, reprising a familiar refrain at scaled-down Victory Day celebrations that may reflect the toll the Ukraine conflict is taking on his forces. "Civilization again finds itself at a decisive, critical moment. ![]() In his address, Putin drew parallels between the Soviet victory in 1945 and Russian forces battling what he called a "cult of Nazism" today in Ukraine. Only a smattering of foreign leaders attended, all of them coming from former Soviet republics still nominally aligned with Moscow. Just one tank - a World War II-era Soviet T-34 model - rumbled across Red Square. The televised parade featured thousands of goose-stepping Russian soldiers but limited military hardware. Russia's Victory Day ceremony traditionally echoes the grand military parades of the Soviet era, yet was scaled back amid the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin assailed the West for unleashing a "real war" against Russia, as the Kremlin leader sought to link events in Ukraine with ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany. Gavril Grigorov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on Tuesday.
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