Russia rolls out just one old tank on WWII Victory Day parade as Vladimir Putin claims he wants ‘peace’

9 May 2023, 10:27 | Updated: 9 May 2023, 13:07

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed he wants ‘a peaceful future’ and blamed the West for sowing seeds of ‘hatred’ as he delivered his annual Victory Day speech in Moscow.

He said Russia was united behind his war in Ukraine, calling it the country’s ‘special military operation’ and saying there was a ‘real war’ being waged against Russia.

The annual military parade commemorates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. This year's parade was scaled back with 8,000 troops compared to 11,000 last year, less military hardware, only one WW2-era tank and no modern tanks and no military flypast.

Despite the invasion of Ukraine being his order, he claimed in his speech that Russia was defending its sovereignty.

He said "a real war" had been unleashed against Russia by the West's "untamed ambitions", shortly after the Kremlin's forces rained cruise missiles on Ukrainian targets.

"Today civilisation is once again at a decisive turning point. A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland,” he said.

Putin was also mocked for sending out only one old tank at the parade - a WWII era T-34 tank, an 84-year-old relic.

Only one tank at Russia's Victory Day parade

Even Ukraine's official Ministry of Defence mocked the parade online.

"Modern russian military equipment can be found much more easily at Ukrainian military trophies exhibitions than at the Victory Parade in moscow," a post read.

Spectators on social media said: “Just one tank on display during this year’s Victory Day parade! Putin’s traditional show of strength has served to expose the extent of Russian weakness.”

Another added: “If you look well Putin is crying....because this is his last tank.”

“No tanks, no aircraft, no helicopters, nothing... Putin is now leaving. This is really embarrassing for Russia,” a third said.

Since Russia invaded its neighbour more than 14 months ago, Mr Putin has repeatedly framed the war in Ukraine as a proxy conflict with the West.

The Kremlin's official narrative of the war has painted a picture of an existential conflict with the West, which in Moscow's view is merely using Ukraine as a tool to destroy Russia, rewrite its history and crush its traditional values. That version of events has dominated Russian state media coverage of the war.

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In his speech, Mr Putin insisted that the West's "untamed ambitions, arrogance and impunity" are to blame for the conflict.

He welcomed soldiers fighting in Ukraine who were present at the parade, and concluded his speech: "To Russia! To our brave armed forces! To victory!"

Earlier, Russia unleashed a barrage of cruise missiles on Ukraine, hours before the start of the Moscow parade, which this year is taking place amid tight security measures.

The Kremlin's forces launched 25 missiles overnight in a wave of attacks across Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, adding that air defence had successfully destroyed 23 of them.

In a Telegram post, the air force said eight Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from carriers in the Black Sea towards the east and 17 from strategic aircraft.

The barrage came as Moscow and other cities hosted military parades and other festivities marking Victory Day, Russia's biggest secular holiday which this year has been significantly overshadowed by the war in Ukraine.

At least 21 Russian cities cancelled May 9 military parades - the staple of celebrations across Russia - for the first time in years.

The Immortal Regiment processions, in which crowds take to the streets holding portraits of relatives who died or served in the Second World War - another pillar of the holiday - have also been cancelled in dozens of cities.

Regional officials blamed unspecified "security concerns"; however some speculated that the real reason behind the cancellations was the fear that Russians might take portraits of relatives who died in Ukraine, illustrating the scale of Russia's losses in the drawn-out conflict.

Moscow was expected to project a show of force during its flagship parade in Red Square, with top-notch military equipment rumbling through it and leaders of ex-Soviet nations standing beside Mr Putin.

Initially, only one of them - Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov - was expected to attend, but at the last minute on Monday officials confirmed that leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were heading to Moscow as well.

The pared-down celebrations come after ambiguous official reports last week that two Ukrainian drones flew into the heart of Moscow under the cover of darkness and reached the Kremlin before being shot down. The Kremlin billed it as an attempt on Mr Putin's life; Ukraine denied involvement.