MOSCOW, May 9 (Reuters) – Russia held its smallest “Victory Day” parade in years on Saturday due to the threat of an attack from Ukraine, where the Russian army has been bogged down for more than four years.
The May 9 military parade in Moscow is a highlight in Russia – a time to celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany and to pay tribute to the 27 million Soviets, many of them Ukrainians, who died during the conflict.
Formerly used to highlight Russian power, notably its nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, this year’s parade saw neither tanks nor any other military equipment parade on the cobblestones of Red Square. Only images of submarines, combat planes, missiles and even drones were projected on giant screens.
Soldiers and sailors, some of whom served in Ukraine, marched and cheered President Vladimir Putin, sitting alongside Russian veterans at the foot of Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum.
Fighter planes then flew over the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin repeated in a short eight-minute speech that the war in Ukraine – less and less popular in Russia – was a “just cause”,
“The feat of the victorious generation inspires the soldiers who carry out special military operations today,” he said. “They are confronted with aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And despite this, our heroes continue to advance.”
The Russian president then placed flowers on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
After Russia and Ukraine accused each other of having violated the unilateral ceasefires that they had each declared in recent days to commemorate the end of the Second World War, Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire, from Saturday to Monday, accepted by Moscow and Kyiv. The two sides also agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners.
The American president said he hoped it would be possible to extend the ceasefire. Ukraine is in favor of such an initiative but Russia has so far opposed it, demanding a capitulation from Kyiv first.
No violations of the ceasefire which came into force on Saturday have been reported so far.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky assured that Kyiv, which is increasing drone strikes in Russia, up to 1,500 km from its border, would not target the parade in Moscow.
(Guy Faulconbridge and Vladimir Soldatkin, French version Tangi SalaÃ1⁄4n)
