Victory Day Parade in Moscow Sparks Tensions Amid Escalating Conflict in Ukraine

Russia has kicked off its 79th “Victory Day” military parade, with thousands of troops and military hardware being showcased in Moscow’s Red Square. This annual event, which commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany during World War II, has become an opportunity for propaganda, as the Kremlin seeks to draw parallels between the Red Army’s triumph in 1945 and the ongoing war in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin, who is serving as commander-in-chief for the 21st time, inspected the parade alongside around 9,000 people and 70 pieces of equipment. The event will conclude with a flyover from the Russian Air Force’s aerobatics teams. Other cities throughout Russia will also host ceremonies, with an estimated 150,000 individuals and 2,500 types of weapons and military equipment participating. Russia’s allies, including Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, have been invited to attend. However, Moscow has stated that “unfriendly countries” will not receive invites.
The conflict in Ukraine, which has rumbled on for almost three years, continues to escalate. Russia’s allies, including Cuba, Iran, and North Korea, are present at the event. Moscow maintains that Western nations are seeking to inflict a “strategic defeat” upon it, whilst Ukraine’s supporters argue that they are defending their country against Russia’s unjustified aggression and land grabs, resulting in the deaths or injuries of at least 30,000 Ukrainian civilians and the creation of over six million refugees, according to United Nations data. Nonetheless, the parade follows recent advances made by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, raising expectations of a further major assault scheduled for early summer. In the previous few weeks, Russian forces have driven back Ukrainian troops in certain locations, allowing them to take control of several villages around Avdiivka in Donetsk. Nevertheless, despite predictions that Ukrainian forces would capture the critical stronghold of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk by Victory Day, this prediction has not come to fruition. Seizing this location would allow Russian forces to initiate attacks on other important objectives, including the fortified cities of Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk. The shortage of ammunition and artillery has presented a challenge for Ukrainian forces, however, following the approval of a $61bn US assistance package in April. Whilst Russia has been able to mobilise vast numbers of soldiers to participate in the conflict, comprising both prisoners and conscripts, the same cannot be said for Ukraine. As a result, Russian forces have repeatedly deployed their numerical superiority to lethal effect, leading many to describe the conflict in eastern Ukraine as a “meat grinder”. Estimated troop losses for Russia stand at around 315,000 fatalities and casualties, according to a previously declassified US intelligence report. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has disclosed any official casualty figures recently.