Scaled-back Victory Day parade held in Moscow | In Pictures Stories

Russia has taken one of its many Victory Day parades over the years, citing the threat of an invasion of Ukraine, where Moscow’s military has yet to achieve a major victory in more than four years of Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.

The May 9 parade on Red Square in Moscow is a highly respected holiday in Russia, a moment to celebrate the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany and to commemorate the 27 million Soviet citizens, including many from what is now Ukraine, who were killed in the war.

While used to showcase Russia’s military might, including its nuclear-tipped missiles, this year’s parade had no tanks or other heavy military equipment rolling down the cobblestones of Red Square.

Instead, weapons such as the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, the new Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine, the Peresvet laser weapon, the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet, the S-500 missile system and a number of other weapons were displayed on large displays at the stadium and broadcast on state television.

Soldiers and sailors, some of whom served in Ukraine, marched and sang as President Vladimir Putin looked on, sitting alongside Russian veterans in the shadow of Vladimir Lenin’s Mausoleum. North Korean troops, who fought against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, also took part in the march.

Fighter jets flew over the Kremlin towers and Putin gave an eight-minute address, promising victory in the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation”.

“The great achievements of the successful generation encourage the military to carry out special military operations today,” Putin said. “They are facing a military force that is armed and supported by the entire NATO alliance. And despite this, our heroes are moving forward.”