President Vladimir Putin has addressed a Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square after Russia unleashed another barrage of cruise missiles on Ukraine.
The Russian leader claimed that “a real war” has been unleashed against the country - a reference to the war in Ukraine that the Kremlin portrays as being a proxy conflict with the West.
“Today civilisation is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said. “A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland.” “We want to see a peaceful, free and stable future,” he added.
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 Moscow’s annual commemorations celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, which this year are 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 that 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 on Red Square, with top-notch military equipment rumbling through it and leaders of ex-Soviet nations standing beside 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 Putin’s life; Ukraine denied involvement.
