This year's parade had no columns of heavy military equipment. Since 2022, Russia has lost 11,894 tanks, 24,486 armored combat vehicles, 40,825 artillery systems, and 1,755 MLRS in Ukraine.
Russia built this parade for decades as its ultimate display of military might — a propaganda spectacle designed to intimidate the world and justify its war against Ukraine.
Moscow faces an excruciating choice: abandon key positions to protect Russian pride on May 9, or commit valuable reserves to a Ukrainian trap specifically designed to bite down when it hurts most.
By elevating their alliance amid war in Ukraine, Putin and Xi signal lasting opposition to "the US-led world order," backed by economic and military coordination.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked Victory Day with a stark message: Russia today has become the evil it once claimed to defeat, an evil that must be resisted militarily, diplomatically, and economically before history repeats itself again.