Children were dressed up as tanks adorned with the symbol “Z”
(Picture: Twitter)Footage has emerged of young child dressed as a Russian tank labelled with “Z” in an apparent rehearsal for the Victory Day parade.
Russian kindergarten children have dressed up in a range of pro-Russian military outfits to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Several children were seen in military uniforms and a leather helmets, while others dressed as Second World War-era fighter jets with the Red Star of the Soviet air force emblazoned on the wings.
Максимально €6@HyTbI€. А потом будут выть в тик-токе: "верните моего сына, хотя бы тело...". pic.twitter.com/B4dsk1ECQ8
— Aliev Eldar (@aliev_aliev) May 8, 2022
The “Z” lettering has become a mainstream propaganda symbol for the Kremlin.
The letter, which does not exist in the Cyrillic Russian alphabet, was spotted being painted on Russian military vehicles weeks before the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Some say the symbol was used to hype up support of the invasion from the Russian population.
It comes amid reports that Russia’s “doomsday plane” designed to protect Vladimir Putin in case of nuclear attack will make its first appearance in a decade at the parade on Monday.
Victory Day is a major public holiday in Russia.
The Soviet Union - made up of Russia, Ukraine and other Soviet republics - lost 27 million people in World War Two, more than any other country.
Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9, a day after Britain and America, as Stalin demanded a separate letter of surrender from the Germans which arrived a day later.
On Saturday, an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile rolled through Red Square as part of the rehearsal in Moscow, with warplanes and helicopters flying overhead, troops marching in formation and self-propelled artillery vehicles rumbling past.
On Monday afternoon, Moscow authorities will seal off central streets to make way for a rally by the “Immortal Regiment”, where civilians carry photographs of family members killed in the war.
The military parade through Red Square is this year be missing some of the combat-ready weaponry which has been deployed to take part in the war.
It was expected to feature just two thirds of the number of vehicles seen last year, according to defence ministry data.
Some 77 jets and helicopters are expected to fly over Red Square, while MiG-29 fighter jets will fly in the shape of the letter Z, a symbol of supporters of the Russian invasion.
The parade is also expected to display next-generation weaponry that has not yet entered mass-production or been deployed on the battlefield.
