Russia celebrates Victory Day amid conflict with Ukraine
MOSCOW. – Russia celebrated the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II with an annual military parade at the Red Square yesterday, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Ukraine’s capital Kiev on the same day to mark Europe Day as the bloc is mulling 11th round of sanctions against Russia for the conflict with Ukraine.
The confrontation between Russia and Ukraine and the West behind has expanded beyond the scope of the battlefield, and how the Ukraine crisis will end may be determined by the result on the battlefields, which is not what many countries that have worked to promote peace want to see, analysts said.
This year’s military parade at the Red Square in Russia has drawn global attention amid tight security following a drone attack at the Kremlin last week.
Yesterday’s parade began with the march of the Honor Guard’s banner group carrying the Russian national flag and the legendary Victory Banner across Red Square. The Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag by soldiers of the Soviet 150th Idritsa rifle division in May 1945, according to media reports.
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a 10-minute speech at the Red Square, during which he said that Russia wanted a peaceful future but that “Western elites” were “sowing hatred and Russophobia” and that Ukrainians had become “hostages to a state coup” and ambitions of the West.
“Real war is being waged against our Motherland,” Putin said, noting the West had forgotten the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and that Russia was currently fighting for its survival.
The annual military parade has a symbolic meaning for Russia to inherit the legacy of the Soviet Union and it concerns its status as a great power. What Putin wanted to convey in the Tuesday speech is what he has already reiterated many times since the conflict with Ukraine began - the historical link between Russia and Ukraine and the reasons for the use of force against Ukraine, especially the strategic squeeze from the US and the West, Wang Chenxing, a research fellow on Russian studies from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
The military parade is to unite the military and the Russian people and also to show Russia’s determination and confidence that it will not surrender to any intimidation either from the US or NATO, said Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator.
Russia is expressing its tough stance via the parade. The weapons displayed include new developed ones and new weapons that have been used in the battle with Ukraine, including Z-STS “Akhmat” armored tactical vehicles and armored vehicle “VPK-Ural,” said Song.
This year’s parade involved over 8 000 troops, including 530 fighters of the special military operation in Ukraine. Various vehicles and missile systems, including Iskander-M tactical missile systems, S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems and Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers were displayed at the parade,.
Some of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including the Presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the prime minister of Armenia were in attendance and together with Putin, they laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden near the Kremlin, according to TASS.
While some CIS countries were celebrating the Victory Day to commemorate the sacrifice made by the Soviet Union in World War II, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed to make the Victory Day in Ukraine as “the day of Europe” - a day to celebrate peace and unity in Europe. A truce on the conflict cannot be reached without the efforts of all related parties, analysts have said. – Global Times