He did not address the challenges facing Russia as its forces prepare for an expected major counter-offensive by Ukraine, or outline any path to victory. 'We have repulsed international terrorism, we will protect the inhabitants of Donbas (in eastern Ukraine), we will ensure our security,' said Putin, who was joined in Red Square by leaders of several ex-Soviet republics. 'We want to see a peaceful, free and stable future,' Putin said, adding that memorials to Soviet soldiers were being destroyed in a number of countries. However Putin also paid tribute to the armies of the United States, Britain and others which had fought the Nazis, and also to China's fight against the Japanese.Īlong with the 1812 defeat of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the crushing of Nazi Germany is Russia's most revered military triumph, though both catastrophic invasions from the west left Russia deeply sensitive about its Western borders. In his speech, Putin said 'Western globalist elites' were sowing Russophobia, while the Ukrainian people had become 'hostages to a state coup' and to the ambitions of the West. This anniversary falls less than a week after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin citadel with two drones in an attempt to kill Putin. Under Putin, they became a muscular display not only of marching battalions but also of Russia's latest weaponry, including warplanes, tanks, and nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles. Russia's first elected president, Boris Yeltsin, made Victory Day parades an annual event from 1995 onwards. The way the Soviet Union and then Russia mark victory over Nazi Germany has changed over the years: the first was ordered by Soviet leader Josef Stalin in June 1945 but May 9 was a normal working day between 19, when Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev ordered a 20th anniversary parade. In Moscow it was already May 9, which became the Soviet Union's 'Victory Day' in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. on May 8, 1945, marked as 'Victory in Europe Day' by France, Britain and the United States. Several speeches by Vladimir Putin about WWII - or the Great Patriotic War as it is called in Russia - follow.Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender came into force at 11:01 p.m. Then 14,000 troops, hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft pass through (or over) Moscow's Red Square, where they are normally inspected by the Russian leader, senior army figures and foreign leaders. What happens on the day?Īfter months of nightly rehearsals, where military vehicles keep Moscovites awake until the early hours, the parade kicks off at 10:00 am. Ukraine's intelligence service has claimed Russia is also planning a victory parade in Mariupol, Ukraine, which has been besieged by Russian troops. It will involve nearly 65,000 people, 2,400 types of weapons and military equipment and more than 460 planes, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. It includes military parades in Moscow and more than two dozen Russian cities. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at an annual military parade in Red Square, Moscow, as the country celebrated its Victory Day, commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. The day celebrates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Russia's Victory Day celebrations on Monday, 9 May are set to take on greater significance than normal amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.īut which victory does it toast? What happens on the day? How do Moscow and the West view it? And how has the parade evolved over the years? What is Russia's Victory Day?

Russia victory day parade