Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9 will be scaled back this year because of a “terrorist threat” from Ukraine, the Kremlin has said.
“All measures are being taken to minimise the danger,” said President Vladimir Putin‘s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russia’s military explained that the annual commemorations of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two would not feature military vehicles or cadets due to the “current operational situation.”
Ukraine has recently intensified its strikes deep inside Russia, more than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Kyiv says it is hitting legitimate military targets, and in turn accuses Moscow of attacking civilians in Ukraine.
Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that “the Kyiv regime, which is losing ground on the battlefield every day, has now launched into full-scale terrorist activity.
“Therefore, given this terrorist threat, all measures are, of course, being taken to minimise the danger,” he said, stressing that the parade would still be held on the Red Square.
Putin revived the old Soviet practice of parading heavy military hardware in Red Square in 2008 to demonstrate Russia’s “growing defence capability.”
Last year, more than 20 world leaders were in Moscow for lavish commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in 1945, which included an array of modern weaponry, including tanks and drones.
In its statement late on Tuesday, the Russian defence ministry said this year’s parade would include representatives of all branches of Russia’s armed forces and a colourful fly-past.
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However, it made clear that “cadets from Suvorov military schools, Nakhimov (naval) schools, and cadet corps, as well as a column of military equipment, will not participate in the military parade this year.”
Footage would also be shown on national TV, it said, of Russian military personnel “carrying out tasks in the special military operation zone,” a reference to how Moscow officially terms its invasion.
Russia has been changing traditional parade formats in recent years, but it is the first time since the invasion of Ukraine that armoured columns will not be rolling on Red Square.
