Russia holds Victory Day parade marking the eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany

[ad_1] MOSCOW (AP) — Russia marked the eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World Struggle II with a massive military parade on Purple Sq. on Friday attended by President Vladimir Putin and overseas leaders, together with Chinese language President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Victory Day, which is widely known in Russia on May 9 , is the nation’s most important secular holiday. The parade and different ceremonies underline Moscow’s efforts to mission its world energy and cement the alliances it has solid whereas looking for a counterbalance to the West amid the conflict in Ukraine that has dragged right into a fourth yr.

World War II is a uncommon occasion within the nation’s divisive historical past beneath Communist rule that's revered by all political teams, and the Kremlin has used that sentiment to encourage nationwide delight and underline Russia’s place as a worldwide energy.

The Soviet Union misplaced 27 million folks in what it calls the Nice Patriotic Struggle in 1941-45, an unlimited sacrifice that left a deep scar within the nationwide psyche.

Talking on the parade, Putin hailed Russian troops combating in Ukraine, saying that “we're pleased with their braveness and dedication, their non secular drive that at all times has introduced us victory.”

The parade featured over 11,500 troops and greater than 180 army automobiles, together with tanks, armored infantry automobiles and artillery used on the battlefield in Ukraine. As a reminder of Russia’s nuclear may, launchers for the Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles rolled throughout Purple Sq..

Fighter jets of Russian air drive’s aerobatic groups flew by in shut formation adopted by jets that trailed smoke within the colours of the nationwide flag.

The parade was the biggest since Moscow despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and had the best attendance by world leaders in a decade.

Afterwards, Putin shook palms with Russian army officers who led the troops on Purple Sq. and spoke to a gaggle of medal-bedecked senior North Korean officers who watched the parade, hugging certainly one of them.

Final month, Putin thanked North Korea for combating alongside Russian troops in opposition to Ukrainian forces and hailed their sacrifices as Pyongyang confirmed its deployment for the primary time.

The Russian and North Korean statements that underlined their expanding military partnerships got here after Russia stated that its troops have absolutely reclaimed the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized in a shock incursion final yr.

Festivities this yr have been overshadowed by Ukrainian drone attacks focusing on Moscow and extreme disruptions on the capital’s airports.

Russian flag service Aeroflot on Wednesday morning canceled greater than 100 flights to and from Moscow, and delayed over 140 others because the army have been repelling repeated Ukrainian drone assaults on the capital.

Russian authorities have tightened safety forward of the parade and cellphone web outages have been reported amid digital countermeasures aimed toward foiling extra potential drone assaults.

Putin had declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire beginning Might 7 to coincide with the Victory Day celebrations, however warned that Russian troops will retaliate to any assaults. Moscow has been reluctant to simply accept a U.S.-proposed 30-day truce that Ukraine has accepted, linking it to a halt in Western arms provides to Ukraine and Kyiv’s mobilization effort, circumstances Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected.

Ukrainian authorities reported scores of Russian strikes on Friday that killed at the least two folks within the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia areas and broken buildings.

Because the Purple Sq. parade and different festivities unfolded in Moscow, dozens of European officers have been assembly in Lviv, in western Ukraine, to endorse the creation of a particular tribunal tasked to prosecute Russian officers accused of struggle crimes.

“Right this moment, we have a good time Europe Day with Ukraine and its folks,” EU overseas coverage chief, Kaja Kallas, wrote on X, including that “we stand united with Ukraine for an enduring peace.”

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