But three years since the invasion of Russia of Ukraine, the Military Power show did not reflect the history of Russia on the current battlefield. The country’s army has not achieved a decisive victory in Ukraine, and has only achieved incremental profits in recent months. The Russian economy has also slowed because or the fall in oil prices and interest rates that have remained high as the country tries to tame inflation.
The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, did not attend the parade, and North Korea’s troops did not march through the square as many expected they would. Several generals from North Korea observed the parade from the stands. At the end of the parade, Mr. Putin approached them and could be heard saying “thank you very much”, an apparent reference to the role of North Korea in Kursk.
In general, more than 11,500 military and women participated in the parade, said the Ministry of Defense of Russia. Among them was a regiment of Chinese troops and troops of some old Soviet nations with Moscow.
In recent decades, the holiday of the day of the victory of May 9 have served as a rare and unifying commemoration in Russia and throughout the former Soviet Union, since some 27 million Soviets perished in World War II. But Mr. Putin has fueled divisions in trying to use the Soviet victory in 1945 to legitimize his invasion of Ukraine, where Russia, the Kremlin falsely affirms, is fighting “Nazis.”
Hard security measures were introduced in Moscow on Friday; The entire city center was blocked for traffic and subway stations closed in the vicinity of Kremlin. Internet access has been sporadic, even through fixed phones. Many in Russia feared that Ukraine could use one of its long distance drones to hit the city on the day of the parade, so special after an attack of Ukrainian unnimelined planes the closure of the four main airports earlier this week.
Unlike last year’s parade, which presented only a tank of the Soviet era, this was the largest since the invasion of Ukraine, according to the numbers provided by the Russian Defense Ministry. More than 180 military vehicles, including tanks, hoitzers and nuclear missile throwers, rolled through the square, said the ministry, and a specialized drone unit participated in the parade for the first time, reflecting the war. The parade ended with a high step of Russian airplanes.
