The president of Russia, Vladimir Putinhas led the parade for the commemoration this Saturday in Moscow of the Soviet triumph against the Nazis, on a Victory Day marked once again by the war in Ukraine and its message of encouragement to Russian forces participating in the conflictbut also characterized by the ceasefire in force with kyiv and the absence of heavy weapons deployment during the commemorations.
Putin, from the rostrum, recalled “the heroism of the Soviet people” who repelled the Nazi invasion during World War II (or the Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Russia), at an enormous human cost that, according to a difficult historical consensus, was around between 20 and 30 million dead in the former Soviet Union from May 1941, the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, until the signing of the German capitulation four years later, in May 1945.
Putin, on the platform at one point in the parade. / PAVEL BEDNYAKOV / POOL
As it has been doing since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Putin has drawn on history to encourage his forces in combat today. “The great feat of the victorious generation inspires soldiers who today carry out special military operations. They face an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And yet, our heroes move forward,” he proclaimed.
“Our soldiers suffered colossal losses, made colossal sacrifices in the name of the freedom and dignity of the peoples of Europe,” he said, before stating that the Soviet army “became the embodiment of courage and nobility, fortitude and humanity, and was crowned with the great glory of a monumental victory.”
They are words spoken during a commemoration that occurs while the European leaders commemorate, also this Saturday, Europe Daythe conception in 1950 of the germ of the European Union, the Economic Community of Coal and Steel.
reduced parade
This year’s celebration in Moscow has special nuances: Putin has decided that the commemoration will not be accompanied, as is traditional, by a large military parade. In fact it only lasted 45 minutes. The Defense Ministry in Moscow announced last week that It would be held without heavy military equipment for the first time since 2007. Cadets from military schools and youth institutions have also been absent, although the air show has been maintained.
Soldiers who fought in the war in Ukraine took part in the parade. / ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / POOL
Security reasons could have influenced the decision. On Monday, a drone hit a luxury residential building about six kilometers from the Kremlin, a rare attack in the capital, as air defenses usually intercept these projectiles before they reach the central security ring. On Friday, Russia suffered a massive drone attack Ukrainians that extended from the south of the country to the Urals, about 1,700 kilometers from the border.
The commemoration takes place under a delicate three-day ceasefire with Ukraine, May 9, 10 and 11sponsored by the president of the United States, Donald Trumpand during which a prisoner exchange will take place: 1,000 Ukrainians for 1,000 Russians.
The commemoration in Red Square took place without incident, as confirmed by the Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskovwhile Ukraine has joked that it will not specifically attack the coordinates of the historic Moscow square during the commemorations, before giving its “permission” for the event to happen.
North Korean soldiers paraded for the first time in Red Square alongside Russian soldiers / EFE
Several dozen soldiers who have fought in Ukraine have taken part in the military parade, where the Russian army has not yet been able to take control of all of Donbas.
But the great novelty of the parade has been the participation for the first time of North Korean soldierswhich have evolved in perfect, almost robotic formation in front of the television cameras.
North Korea sent in 2024 to several thousand soldiers to fight in the Russian Kursk regionpartially occupied by the Ukrainian army, an operation in which, according to some sources, a large number of them died.
Putin has highlighted on several occasions the bravery and professionalism of the North Korean contingent, in whose honor a monument was recently erected in Pyongyang, a ceremony attended by the Russian Defense Minister, Andrey Belousov.
