Vladimir Putin presided over a massive show of tanks, missiles and troops in Moscow on Friday in a “belligerent” show of force alongside Chinese president Xi Jinping to bolster Russia’s global image as the Ukraine war grinds on.
Putin was joined by dozens of foreign leaders, who witnessed more than 11,000 troops on display in Red Square, in Russia’s Second World War Victory Day parade that involved soldiers from 13 other countries, and included 200 tanks among the presentation of presentation of military power.
As a reminder of Russia’s nuclear threat, huge Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles launchers rolled across Red Square, while Iranian-made drones used to attack Ukraine were carried on trucks in a nod to the conflict.
“The Soviet troops, who held their ground to the death on key front lines, determined the outcome of the entire Second World War through their victories in the largest battles,” Putin said.
It was an apparent rebuff against US president Donald Trump, who this week said “nobody came close” to America in “terms of strength, bravery, or military brilliance” during the conflict.
Ukraine has accused Russia of repeatedly breaching its own unilateral ceasefire proposed leading up to the parade, with Trump overnight backing president Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for a 30-day truce.
Even so, according to Russian state media, the US and Russian presidents exchanged greetings to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in Russia’s largest show of strength in years.
Since Putin invaded Ukraine, the annual military parade has been a shadow of its former years. Russian news agency Tass reported last year’s parade hosted 9,000 troops, however this year’s ceremony reported an increase of 2,000, which included 1,500 soldiers involved in the current invasion.
Natalie Sabanadze, a senior research fellow in Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme, told The Independent the image Putin was trying to convey was “the army is ready for more”.
“The symbolism of it cannot be underestimated,” she said.
Sam Greene, director of the Russia Institute at King’s College, told The Independent that Putin’s goal was an international show of strength.
“The object of the parade was to project confidence and belligerence both to Russian and Western publics,” Dr Greene said.
Putin’s allies, including Chinese president Xi Jinping and Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka, joined the procession as he inspected his soldiers.
Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico were there, in a move to show “Russia has allies even within the Western camp,” Alexander Gabuev, director of Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said.
Chinese troops and vehicles were also on display, which Ms Sabanadze said was meant to show the joint military might of both countries, and “an alignment that is deepening”.
Afterward, Putin shook hands with Russian generals who led the troops onto Red Square and spoke to medal-bedecked senior North Korean officers who watched the parade, hugging one of them.
Last month, Putin thanked North Korea for fighting alongside Russian troops against Ukrainian forces and hailed their sacrifices as Pyongyang confirmed its deployment for the first time.
The celebration was overshadowed by Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and severe disruptions at the capital’s airports.
Aeroflot on Wednesday cancelled more than 100 flights to and from Moscow, and delayed over 140 others as the military repelled Ukrainian drone attacks on the capital.
As the parade unfolded in Moscow, dozens of European officials met in Lviv, in western Ukraine, to endorse the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian officials accused of war crimes.
“Russia needs to feel our common and, most importantly, growing strength,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He emphasised the need for Russia to be held accountable, adding that “this is the moral duty of Europe and of everyone in the world who values human life”.
Ukrainian authorities reported scores of Russian strikes Friday that killed at least two people in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and damaged buildings.
A Russian drone also struck a civilian vehicle in Zaporizhzhia, critically injuring a man and also wounding his wife, Kyiv said.
The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people in what Russia called the Great Patriotic War in 1941-45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche.
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