Vladimir Putin came to the parade in Moscow, and it is also announced that the leaders of nine foreign countries are participating – Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, as well as Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikolas Pashinyan, who arrived in Moscow yesterday to participate in the Eurasian Economic Community summit, did not appear at the parade.
As in previous years, Western heads of state and prime ministers are not participating in the parade and the huge arms exhibition.
In his speech, V. Putin called Victory Day “the main holiday of Russia”. Almost from the beginning, he began to criticize Western countries, accusing them of “rehabilitating Nazism and falsifying history.”
“Russia will do everything to prevent a global collision, but we will not allow anyone to threaten us, our strategic forces are always ready,” V. Putin asserted.
Speaking about the Second World War, he stated that all of Europe “worked for Hitler’s Germany”, and the Soviet Union allegedly resisted it almost alone for a long time.
V. Putin also mentioned the war in Ukraine in his speech, calling the Russian soldiers attacking Ukraine “heroes”.
On Red Square, in front of thousands of soldiers dressed in parade uniforms, V. Putin did not hesitate to praise his army in Ukraine and accused the “Western elite” of inciting conflicts around the world. “Dear friends, Russia is now going through a difficult, decisive period. The fate of the motherland, its future depends on each of us,” V. Putin said during the Victory Day parade.
The May 9 parade commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II and has become Russia’s most important public holiday. The Russian president has repeatedly called the war in Ukraine an existential struggle against “Nazism”. He also stepped up his nuclear rhetoric. Earlier this week, he ordered the Russian military to conduct nuclear weapons drills involving the navy and troops stationed off Ukraine.
Much less military equipment participated in the parade, as last year, than before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports svoboda.org. The duration of the parade was also significantly shorter than in previous years.
Media previously reported that the parade will include, among others, soldiers who have fought in Ukraine in recent months. An air show was also announced.
In many regions of Russia, parades commemorating the victory in World War II have been canceled due to security concerns. There will be no large ceremonies, for example, in the regions of Bryansk and Kursk, which border Ukraine and are under constant shelling.
Thursday’s celebrations came two days after Putin was inaugurated for a fifth term as president, promising Russians “victory” during a lavish ceremony in the Kremlin.
Tags: military parade Moscow leaders countries arrived Putin
