A blow to V. Putin: the parade was watched by A. Lukashenko’s spitz, but not by foreign leaders

As with Russia’s annual commemoration of the end of World War II, Thursday saw a traditional ceremony important to millions of Russians that reflects President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to create an illusion of normalcy as the population tries to come to terms with the protracted war.

During last year’s Victory Day celebration, when Russia was on the battlefield, Putin said the country was engaged in a “real war” for survival and accused the Western elite of allegedly seeking “the disintegration and destruction of Russia.” On Thursday, he made only one reference to the war in Ukraine, using his original euphemism for the invasion, “special military operation,” The New York Times noted.

The Russian leader devoted more time to traditional remarks about the sacrifices of Soviet citizens in World War II than to reproaching modern opponents.

Still, he did not ignore those opponents entirely, reviving familiar criticisms and grievances over what he said were attempts to undermine Russia and accusing the West of “hypocrisy and lies.”

The coldest day since 1945

Nine thousand soldiers marched in the snow on Red Square, a thousand more than last year. Several dozen more units of military equipment were demonstrated and several high-ranking officials from foreign countries participated.

The city center, normally full of revelers, was largely blocked off by security services. The temperature in Moscow was the coldest on record since 1945, according to the National Weather Service.

Only the former USSR states and Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau received attention

Last year, V. Putin received only the presidents of the former Soviet republics, which together with Russia fought against Nazi Germany in World War II. This year, foreign heads of state included the presidents of Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau, while Western leaders ignored the ceremony.

Putin’s closest ally abroad, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, also attended and watched the parade with his spitz puppy Umka, who was seen in the front row of the parade stand.

Explained why the parade on Red Square was so modest

The two main differences of this Victory Parade in Moscow from last year’s parade are the infantry column of the participants of the war in Ukraine and, for the first time since 2021, the airborne part of the parade was held. As in previous years, many of the units that participated in the 2022 parade were absent from the marching band. Many technical units participating in the war did not roll out for the parade. During the air portion, only 15 planes flew by, the independent portal “Agentstvo” notes.

According to the host, more than a thousand participants of the war in Ukraine took part in the parade this year. This is twice as much as in 2023. And unlike last year, this time these soldiers marched in a separate column on the pavement of Red Square.

Like last year, several military formations that were introduced in 2022 did not appear on Red Square this time. There were no soldiers of the 4th Guards Tank Kantemirov Division, the 2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Taman Division, the 27th Guards Separate Motorized Rifle Sevastopol Brigade and the 45th Separate Engineering Brigade.

Only one tank participated – T-34

As in the previous year, only one tank – the T-34 – participated in the mechanized part of the parade. After him, the same samples of equipment appeared on the pavement as last year: universal armored personnel carriers Tiger-M, VPK URAL, a protected vehicle based on Kamaz, Iskander-M, S-400 “Triumf”, one ballistic missile Jars and armored personnel carriers on the Boomerang platform.

Linza sanitary vehicles were shown for the first time on Red Square. They were delivered back in 2018 and put into operation in 2020.

Nine Su-30SM and Mig-29 aircraft of aerobatic groups flew over Red Square, as well as six Su25VMs, which painted the sky with the colors of the flag. When the air portion of the parade was last held in 2021, 18 helicopters and more than 50 airplanes flew over the square. in 2022 the aviation part of the parade was canceled due to bad weather conditions, and in 2023 it did not happen without any explanation.

Such a parade on Red Square may mean that all combat-ready units of the Russian army are still participating in the war in Ukraine, the Agency portal claims.

A billion rubles – for such a bribe, the deputy minister of defense of Russia sacrificed his post

At the end of April, Timur Ivanov, the deputy of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, was arrested on suspicion of bribery. Russian media say a high-ranking official took 1.125 billion ruble (11.317 million euros) bribe.

T. Ivanov’s lawyer, Murad Musayev, provided such numbers to the Russian state news agency Tass.

“It appears in the form of jobs and materials spent on them. The criminal case is related to construction. Allegedly, certain contractors of the Ministry of Defense built certain objects for T.Ivanov,” clarified the lawyer.