Russia to hold Victory Day parade without military equipment for 1st time since invading Ukraine

MOSCOW: Russia's traditional parade marking the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II will take place without military equipment, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement late Tuesday.

It will be the first time since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that no military equipment will rumble through Moscow's Red Square on May 9, the day Russia celebrates its most important secular holiday and showcases its military might.

The ministry statement cited the “current operational situation” as a reason for excluding a military equipment convoy, as well as cadets, from the parade. The statement didn't elaborate.

The parade will feature “servicemen from higher military educational institutions of all kinds and certain service branches of the Russian Armed Forces" and a traditional military aircraft flyover, the ministry said.

World War II is a rare event in the nation's divisive history under Communist rule that is revered by all political groups, and the Kremlin has used that sentiment to encourage national pride and underline Russia's position as a global power.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in what it calls the Great Patriotic War in 1941-45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche.

President Vladimir Putin, who has ruled Russia for over 25 years, has turned Victory Day into a key pillar of his tenure and has tried to use it to justify the war in Ukraine.

Last year's parade was the largest since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, and drew the most global leaders to Moscow in a decade, including high-profile guests like Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico.

It featured over 11,500 troops and more than 180 military vehicles, including tanks, armoured infantry vehicles and artillery used on the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as huge Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles launchers and drones carried on military trucks. Fighter jets flew over Red Square, too.

Putin had declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire starting May 7, and the authorities blocked cellphone internet in Moscow for several days in an effort to avert Ukrainian drone attacks.

In 2023, the parade was scaled down, with fewer troops and military equipment on display and no flyover.