Soviet T-34 tank, the only tank on display at the Victory Day parade in Russia, May 9, 2023, drives through Red Square.
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Political analysts say Russia’s scaled-back Victory Day parade not only shows Moscow’s unease about a possible attack in Ukraine, but also highlights the country’s military resources depleted by the conflict.
May 9 is a public holiday in Russia commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. It is arguably the most important day in Russia’s public calendar and history, forming a central part of the country’s modern national identity.
This year, military parades via Moscow’s Red Square and celebrations across the country were markedly fewer than in previous years or canceled entirely, with six regions (including annexed Crimea) and at least 20 cities halting their commemorations.
In Moscow on Tuesday, the parade was more somber, with no flyovers or “Immortal Regiment” parades — usually large public events commemorating those killed in World War II. There were also far fewer troops and military equipment on display than in previous years.
Analysts point to the fact that only one Stalin-era tank was on display at the Red Square parade, which is particularly striking.
Peter Dickinson, editor of UkraineAlert, said: “It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate place than to see a lone Stalin-era tank march through Red Square during the country’s traditional Victory Day celebrations on May 9. A symbol of Russia’s military destiny,” The Atlantic Council’s journal, commented Tuesday.
“For the past two decades, Vladimir Putin has used Victory Day to showcase the resurgence of modern Russia as a military superpower, with each annual parade typically featuring dozens of the latest tanks. However, The only tank on display this year is a T-34 model dating back to World War II.”
At the Victory Day parades in previous years, Russia displayed a long line of tanks. Here, a Russian T-90A tank drives past a previous military parade on Red Square.
Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty Images
“Inevitably, the embarrassing absence of tanks from this year’s Victory Day parade has been widely interpreted as further evidence of Russia’s catastrophic losses in Ukraine,” Dickinson noted, a view echoed by the UK Ministry of Defense.
“The composition of Russia’s annual Victory Day parade on Red Square highlights the material and strategic communications challenges” that Russian forces are facing 15 months after the war in Ukraine, the ministry said in a Wednesday commentary.
“More than 8,000 people were reported to have participated in the military parade, but most were cadets from auxiliary forces, paramilitary forces and military training institutions,” the ministry noted in its latest intelligence update on Twitter, adding, “The only Personnel units from deployable formations of conventional forces are contingents of railroad troops and military police.”
A spokesman for the Russian defense ministry was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Kremlin concerns
Security concerns are the ostensible reason for Russia’s scaling back of its Victory Day activities, and the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin last week (which Russia blames on Ukraine and the US, both of which they deny) was a precursor to, and justification for, a low-key event
But military analysts note that the Kremlin may also be keen to avoid any opportunity to publicly criticize its invasion, which it still insists was a “special military operation” – the only reference to war on Tuesday was Russian President Vladimir Putin the one on red square Despite Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, “a real war is being waged against our homeland”.
The MoD, noting the only “vintage” T-34 tank on display, said that despite heavy losses in Ukraine, Russia could have deployed more armored vehicles, but “the authorities may not have done so because they wanted to avoid domestic criticism about the Prioritize military parades over combat operations.”
The Atlantic Council’s Dickinson also noted that banning this year’s “Immortal Regiment” parade, usually a mass-popular event when the Russian public has a chance to honor loved ones lost in World War II, “is a bigger blow” that the Kremlin is likely to Fears that the families of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine may seek involvement.
Participants hold flags and portraits, including Red Army soldiers, during the Victory Day Immortal Regiment parade in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2022, marking the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Shamir Zhumatov | Reuters
“With Russian officials still denying the disastrous consequences of the invasion of Ukraine, the last thing the Kremlin wants is to gather thousands of grieving relatives in public and draw attention to the scale of the tragedy,” Dickinson noted.
Ukrainian schadenfreude
Ukraine was apparently quick to comment on the scaled-down Victory Day parade.
The official Twitter account of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense joked that “modern Russian military equipment is easier to find at the Ukrainian military trophy exhibition than at the Victory Parade in Moscow,” while Ukrainian MP Oleksi Goncharenko tweeted: Special said, All of Ukraine is laughing at a Russian tank.
Ukraine continues to distance itself from Russia’s sphere of influence and orbit, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday submit A draft law submitted to the Ukrainian parliament proposes to designate May 8 as “the day commemorating the victory over Nazism in World War II” instead of May 9, as in Russia and other former Soviet republics. Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism”.
He said that from now on May 9 will be called “Europe Day” in Ukraine, Zelensky noted, “We will commemorate our historic unity – all Europe that destroyed Nazism and will defeat Russiaism Unity of humanity,” the term Ukraine uses to describe “Russian fascism.”