![]() ![]() However, the Kremlin cannot take the eastern and southern fronts for granted, given their material losses and the cumulatively worsening morale of the combat formations. Having failed to fight its way into the Ukrainian capital Kiev in the northern sector of the conflict, the Russian military has recently placed all its bets in a face-saving achievement in the separatist east and partially-controlled south of the country. This year, however, the Victory Day Parade will likely take place under different conditions. What is more, only two months after the 2021 Victory Day march, President Vladimir Putin published his infamous article, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians,” manifesting his rule’s irredentist stance vis-a-vis the post-Soviet space. Last year, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu attended in his well-decorated uniform, enjoying a successful record all the way from Crimea to Syria. Under usual circumstances, one would expect to see yet another highly ceremonial march promoting Russia’s grim might.Įach Victory Day Parade starts with the Russian defence minister inspecting the parading units, then saluting the commander-in-chief, the president of the Russian Federation. One month from now, on May 9, the annual Victory Day Parade commemorating the surrender of Nazi Germany, will take place in Moscow’s Red Square, showcasing Russia’s formidable arsenal in a Soviet-fashion spectacle. May 9 has long been one of the most venerated holidays in Russia, marking the end, in 1945, of what Russians call the Great Patriotic War, in which more than 20 million Soviet citizens died at home and abroad.Russia has failed in Ukraine’s north, and this does not bode well for the future of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other members of the ruling elite. In a rare acknowledgment of the losses suffered by Russian forces in Ukraine, Putin said each soldier's death was "our shared grief," pledging support for children and families of those who died or were injured. And for us, their heirs, the devotion to the motherland is the main value, a pillar of strength for Russia's independence." "For them, the highest meaning of life was always the well-being and security of the homeland. "Today you are defending what the fathers and grandfathers, great-grandfathers fought for," Putin said. The Kremlin has framed its invasion of Ukraine as a fight to "de-nazify" the country - a thread that Putin continued in his Victory Day address, claiming Russia's clash with Ukraine's neo-Nazis and Nazi sympathizers had been "inevitable." Ukraine invasion - explained Russia's Victory Day celebrations take on new importance for the Kremlin this year This decision was forced, timely and the only correct one - a decision by a sovereign, strong and independent country." ![]() "A threat absolutely unacceptable to us was being systemically created," Putin said, describing danger as "mounting by the day" and adding: "Russia gave a preemptive rebuff to aggression. He said Kyiv considered acquiring nuclear weapons and had been building up its military with NATO's support. Instead, addressing phalanxes of troops filling Moscow's Red Square, Putin repeated his claims that Western nations and Ukraine had been planning their own attacks, perhaps on Russia's "historical lands," including Crimea. In the third month of Russia's attacks on Ukraine, Putin has few outright victories to claim, prompting earlier speculation - both in Russia and abroad - that he might use the speech to launch national mobilization and formally declare war against not only Ukraine but possibly other countries in the West. Putin did not claim any victories, however, nor did he signal major military or policy shifts in what the Kremlin continues to call its "special military operation" in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin devoted much of his annual Victory Day speech to Ukraine, painting Russia's campaign as this generation's link to the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany and describing it as forced by actions of the U.S. ![]() ![]() Russian servicemen march during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Monday marking the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II. ![]()
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