Moscow's annual Victory Day parade was unlike any other in recent years.
Previous to the war in Ukraine, the event, billed as a remembrance day of Russia's victory over the Nazis in World War II, was used to showcase Russia's military might.
In 2023, however, the parade was lacking in grandeur.
Where in previous Victory Day Parades, a broad collection of the Russian military's best hardware rolled through the procession route through the famed Red Square, this year featured just one WWII vintage T-34 tank.
Ordinarily, more than 10,000 pairs of boots march the route, the soldiers' heads cocked to face Russian President Vladimir Putin as they pass by.
This year, only around 8,000 troops took part in the event.
Even the procession in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, featured some 13,000 soldiers, and last year, two months into the war in Ukraine, 11,000 troops took part.
And the grand finale was lacking, too. Usually, a formation of fighter jets flies over the square in a grand display, often accompanied by helicopters and other aircraft. This year, there were none.
Also cancelled in its entirely was the section of the parade called the "Immortal Regiment" procession, in which people carry portraits of relatives who fought against the Nazis.
Those wishing to commemorate their relatives were invited to instead place photos of war veterans in car windows, wear clothing with a photo printed on it, or change their social media profile pictures.
Foreign representatives often travel to Moscow to witness the parade, usually from the Middle East and Africa, but this year, only the leaders of the countries formerly in the Soviet Union – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus and Armenia – were present.
Parades in some other cities were also scaled back or called off entirely.
Russia attributed the cuts to security concerns, following what it said were attempted drone attacks on the Kremlin last week, which Russia blames on Ukraine but Ukraine denies.
"This is supposed to be a showpiece for Russian military might. But so much of that military might has already been mauled in Ukraine that Russia has very little to show on its parade in Red Square," Keir Giles, a Russia expert at London's Chatham House think tank, told the Associated Press.
The BBC's disinformation specialist Alistair Coleman said: "Clearly, Moscow has a more urgent need for its military equipment elsewhere."
Ukraine's defence ministry estimates Russia has lost upwards of 3,700 tanks. Estimates from Western intelligence sources such as Dutch open-source verification outlet Oryx gives a more conservative estimate of over 1,800.
The holiday commemorating the Soviet victory in World War II is the most important day in the calendar in Russia under Mr Putin, who casts his invasion of Ukraine as analogous to Russia's fight against the Nazis.
Russia marks the anniversary of the Nazi surrender on May 9, when then-leader of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin, announced the victory on radio.
Ukraine announced this year it was shifting its observance to May 8, in line with the rest of Europe.
ABC/wires
