Putin watches victory parade featuring a solitary Russian tank

Putin pictured at a reception for heads of state after the Victory Day parade in Moscow – Mikhail Metzel/Shutterstock

A solitary Soviet tank led Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day celebrations in Moscow as soldiers patrolled with anti-drone guns amid fears of Ukrainian attacks.

The Soviet T-34 was the only Russian tank passing through the streets, marking victory over Nazi Germany 79 years ago, as was the case last year.

Analysts said it was a further sign that Russian armoured supplies have been severely degraded since the start of the war. At least 20 tanks to part in the pre-war 2020 victory parade.

However, the parade did feature a number of foreign tanks apparently captured from Ukrainian forces, with some bearing British, American and Czech flags.

The solitary Soviet tank was also a feature of last year’s parade – Sefa Karacan/Anadolu

Some soldiers taking part in the parade were carrying devices that appeared to be handheld drone signal jammers, potentially an attempt to ward off any attacks by Ukranian UAVs.

Ukraine’s drone fleet has proven capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow itself.

Sitting in the front row along with Putin were a number of his close allies, including Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan and Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus. Mr Lukashenko was joined by his white Pomeranian, Umka, named after a Soviet poem.

Sitting in the front row along with Putin were a number of his close allies, including Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan and Aleksandr Lukashenko, the president of Belarus.

The leaders of Cuba, Laos and Guinea-Bissau also turned up – but not Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia’s Prime Minister, who snubbed the event, though he was in Moscow on Wednesday evening for a regional summit.

There was an unseasonal flurry of spring snow during the parade, adding a chilly atmosphere to an event shunned by Western leaders since the February 2022 invasion.

In sub-zero temperatures, a unit of female soldiers were dressed in white skirts, gold belts and black boots. Unusually for military uniforms, they wore their skirts several inches above the knee.

The soldiers gave beaming salutes to the Russian president as they marched through Moscow.

Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, salutes soliders at the parade – Alexander Nemenov/AFP

Troops from the Central African Republic, where a large presence of Wagner mercenaries is building up Moscow’s influence, also took part in the parade – the second since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The CAR troops wore red berets and white boots, marching past in two six-man columns.

The Wagner group has been expanding its presence across the African continent where it is accused of committing human rights abuses. Its most recent deployments have focused on Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, three states which have also recently seen military coups.

In a speech to the lines of soldiers and dignitaries, Putin said that the “future of the motherland depends on us2.

Despite the wintry spring weather in Moscow, this unit wore skirts above the knee – Maxim Shipenkov/Shutterstock

“Today on Victory Day we are conscious of that even more acutely,” he added before making a threat about nuclear weapons.

“Our strategic forces are always combat ready,” he said, referring to Russia’s nuclear capabilities.

The Kremlin is planning to hold weapons tests simulating the deployment of tactical, short-range nuclear weapons in southern Russia and Putin addressed concerns over these tests in comments to state broadcasters after the Victory Day parade.

“There is nothing unusual here, this is planned work,” Putin said. “It is training.”

The Russian president ended his Victory Day speech with the clarion call, “For Russia! For victory! Hurrah”, prompting cheers from thousands of soldiers.

Putin watched the parade sitting with military top brass – Sergei Karpukhin/AFP

Putin included a brief reference to the war in Ukraine, in which he characterised those fighting there as “heroes”, comparing them to World War Two veterans. Around 27 million Soviet soldiers are said to have been killed in World War Two, though experts believe the true figure could be much higher.

Later in his address, Putin said he would not allow “anyone” to threaten Russia, in a clear reference to the West, though he stopped short of the rhetoric of nuclear Armageddon he has used on other occasions since the start of the war.

He said: “Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash. But at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness.”

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