Russian President Vladimir Putin watched a parade to mark the country's victory over Germany in WWII, as his military rained down missiles on Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that the West has unleashed “a real war” against Russia, reprising a familiar refrain at scaled-down Victory Day celebrations that may reflect the toll thePutin’s remarks came just hours after the Moscow fired its latest barrage of cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than 14 months ago. Ukrainian authorities said air defenses destroyed 23 of 25 missiles launched.
Putin has often used patriotic rhetoric that harkens back to the earlier war in an effort to rally his citizens and his forces — and May 9 is one of the most important dates in the Russian political calendar. But this year's celebrations were markedly smaller, at least partially because of security concerns after several drone attacks have been reported inside Russia.
The traditional Immortal Regiment processions, in which crowds take to the streets holding portraits of relatives who died or served in World War II — a pillar of the holiday — were canceled in multiple cities. Some speculated that authorities feared Russians might bring portraits of relatives who died in Ukraine, illustrating the scale of the Kremlin's losses in the drawn-out conflict.
There was no independent verification of the purported attack, which Russia authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it. The guest list was also light amid Putin’s broad diplomatic isolation over the war. Initially, only one foreign leader was expected to attend this year’s parade — Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov. That was one more foreign guest than last year, when no leaders went.
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