Russian soldiers fighting against Ukraine are inspired by the “heroism of the generation of victors” from World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the 9 May parade on Red Square. According to Russian propaganda media, more than a thousand Russian soldiers who participated in the war against Ukraine took part in the parade, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
This year’s parade in Moscow was held in a reduced format without columns of heavy military equipment, cadets, Suvorov Military School students, or Nakhimov Naval School students, as per Interfax.
Since 2022, Russia has lost 11,894 tanks, 24,486 armored combat vehicles, 40,825 artillery systems, and 1,755 MLRS in the war against Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.
Putin links war against Ukraine to World War II
“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the warriors who today are carrying out the tasks of the special military operation,” Putin stated during his speech on Red Square.
The Kremlin leader also claimed that Russian forces are supposedly “confronting an aggressive force supported and armed by the entire NATO bloc.”
He additionally stated that “it was precisely the Soviet people who made the decisive contribution to the defeat of Nazism, saved their country, and saved the world.”
Parade without armored vehicles, but with troops who fought against Ukraine
Despite the absence of armored vehicles, Russian military aviation flew over Red Square, including Su-25 aircraft actively used in the war against Ukraine.
Moscow speaks of victory while mobile internet is shut down in city center
On the morning of 9 May, mobile internet access was disabled in central Moscow amid the parade.
“I firmly believe: our cause is just, we are together, and victory has always been and will always be ours,” Putin declared at the end of his speech.
He also added that victory in what he described as the war against Ukraine “is forged both on the battlefield and on the home front.”
“Everyone contributes personally to victory,” he said.
At the same time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that on 9 May “there were no attempts to disrupt the Victory Day celebrations.”
