Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday presided over Victory Day celebrations overshadowed by Russia’s battlefield failures in Ukraine, confrontation with the West and fear of new attacks at home.
However, in a major coup for the Kremlin, at least six post-Soviet leaders, including the prime minister of Armenia and the president of Kazakhstan, attended the military parade that fetes the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Putin, who has become the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, addressed thousands of troops standing at attention in Moscow’s Red Square amid ramped-up security.
Photo: AFP
However, after 14 months of fighting in Ukraine, Russia has little to show for its military campaign, with troops failing to take control of the eastern town of Bakhmut, its military leadership riven by conflict and Kyiv preparing to go on the offensive.
Political analyst Arkady Dubnov said that “for the first time in many years” Putin would be surrounded at a Victory Day parade by a number of post-Soviet leaders.
“Despite the serious weakening of its global positions after February 24, 2022, Russia remains to a certain extent the metropolis of a former empire whose actions have to be taken into account,” Dubnov said.
Photo: Reuters
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “all necessary measures” were taken to ensure the safety of the leaders.
In the run-up to the festivities, Russia has witnessed numerous incidents, including explosions derailing trains, fires, a drone attack on the Kremlin and a bombing attack that wounded a pro-Kremlin writer, Zakhar Prilepin.
More than two dozen cities and towns — near the Ukraine border, but also in more distant Russian regions — have canceled plans to stage their own military parades over security concerns.
Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has promoted patriotism around the 1945 Soviet victory over the Nazis, used to stoke patriotism and boost his standing as the heir of Soviet power.
The Kremlin has also used the memory of the Soviet war effort to justify its offensive in Ukraine, claiming it is fighting “fascists” supported by the West.
Authorities scrapped plans to hold so-called “Immortal Regiment” marches that see people carry photographs of veterans or family members who died in World War II.
While officials said the events would not take place due to security concerns, Kremlin critics say many Russians could have brought photos of those who died fighting in Ukraine, highlighting the scale of Moscow’s losses.
By contrast, Ukraine commemorated the end of World War II with Europe on Monday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowing that Russian forces would be defeated just as Nazi Germany was beaten in 1945.
The Kremlin was responsible for “aggression and annexation, occupation and deportation,” as well as “mass murder and torture,” Zelenskiy said.
He said that on Monday he had submitted a bill to formally commemorate World War II in Ukraine.
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