IRIA News

Russia staged its annual Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, 2023. The heavily guarded and scaled-down parade involved 8,000 troops, one of the lowest numbers since 2008. There were no fly-over jets and lesser military equipment was on display.

This year’s event lasted less than an hour, and included a ten-minute long speech from President Vladimir Putin who declared that the West has unleashed “a real war” against Russia.

Foreign dignitaries including the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, attended the Victory Day Parade.

Victory Day is a key national event for Russia, organized annually to mark the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Putin uses it to directly address the country’s military forces. The event has become more significant in the last two years due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. President Putin uses his speech to evoke the spirit of sacrifice among military personnel.

In his brief but charged speech, Putin said that the world is at a “turning point” and claimed a war had been unleashed against Russia. He said that “decisive battles for the fate of our Motherland have always become patriotic, all-national, and sacred.” He added that “A real war has again been unleashed against our homeland.” He accused the West of being consumed by Russophobia, and of forgetting the decisive role of the Soviet Union in defeating Hitler.

The military parade featured new additions including Tigr-M armored vehicles, BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, Bumerang infantry fighting vehicles, Iskander-M tactical missile systems, S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems, and Yars road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers. Additionally, the Spartak and 3-STS-Akhmat armored vehicles made their debut in the parade.

Victory Day parades and events are typically arranged all over Russia, however, this year’s events were scaled down in many regions citing security concerns. Russia’s Belgorod region was the first to call off the military parade. regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced that “There won’t be a parade in order to not provoke the enemy with large numbers of equipment and service members in central Belgorod”.

The events and military parade in Moscow’s Red Square were also heavily guarded. Less than a week ago, Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with two drones in an attempt to kill Putin. Kyiv has denied any involvement.

Zelenskyy delivers a fiery speech

A day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also delivered a fierce speech against Moscow at he 78th anniversary of victory and reaffirmed that Ukraine would vanquish the Russian forces “just as Nazism was defeated”.

“We do not yet know the date of our victory, but we know that it will be a holiday for the whole of Ukraine, for the whole of Europe, for the whole of the free world,” he said during his speech.

The fighting between Russia and Ukraine has become more intense in recent weeks. According to the Ukrainian forces, Russia launched a row new attack on Ukraine on the same day as Moscow celebrated Victory Day. Ukrainian forces said that its air defense system destroyed 23 of 25 missiles fired directly toward the capital Kyiv.

Earlier this week, Ukraine also claimed the downing of Russia’s Kh-55 anti-ship cruise missile. The head of the National Police of Kyiv Oblast Andrii Nebytov said that the missile was aimed towards Kyiv, however, it was shot down using the American-supplied air defense system. He said that the wreckage of the missile was discovered on the territory. Some of the civil infrastructure was partially destroyed by the missile’s wreckage.

UN Chief says peace talks “not possible” right now

Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that peaceful negotiation to end Russia-Ukraine is “not possible at this moment”. His statement came on May 9, 2023, during an interview with a Spanish newspaper.

Guterres referred to the Russian and Ukrainian leaders’ recent speeches at events commemorating the victory of World War II. He said that both parties are “completely absorbed in this war” right now and “are convinced that they can win.” He highlighted this attitude as the main hurdle in bringing the two sides to the negotiation table.

When asked about the peace efforts made by China, the UN Chief said that Beijing’s position on nuclear escalation being “unacceptable” is commendable. He said that it is “very important to avoid a temptation that would be an intolerable absurdity”.

Guterres stressed that although he appreciates China’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict, he does not see the current situation as suitable for peaceful negotiations. The Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is set to visit Europe this week as Beijing pushes to act as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict.