Russia holds Victory Day parade 

Victory Day celebrations mark 80th anniversary of defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II  

Moscow: Russia marked the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II with a massive military parade on Red Square on Friday attended by President Vladimir Putin and foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Victory Day, which is celebrated in Russia on May 9, is the country’s most important secular holiday.

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The parade and other ceremonies underline Moscow’s efforts to project its global power and cement the alliances it has forged while seeking a counterbalance to the West amid the conflict Ukraine that has dragged into a fourth year.

World War II is a rare event in the nation’s divisive history under Communist rule that is revered by all political groups, and the Kremlin has used that sentiment to encourage national pride and underline Russia’s position as a global power.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in what it calls the Great Patriotic War in 1941-45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche.

Speaking at the parade, Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, saying that “we are proud of their courage and determination, their spiritual force that always has brought us victory.”

The parade featured over 11,500 troops and more than 180 military vehicles, including tanks, armoured infantry vehicles and artillery used on the battlefield in Ukraine. As a reminder of Russia’s nuclear might, launchers for the Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles rolled across Red Square.

Fighter jets of Russian air force’s aerobatic teams flew by in close formation followed by jets that trailed smoke in the colours of the national flag.

After the show, Putin shook hands with Russian military officers who led the troops on Red Square. He also talked to a group of medal-bedecked senior North Korean officers who watched the parade, hugging one of them.

Last month, Putin thanked North Korea for fighting alongside Russian troops against Ukrainian forces and hailed their sacrifices as Pyongyang confirmed its deployment for the first time.

Russian flag carrier Aeroflot cancelled more than 100 flights to and from Moscow, and delayed over 140 others as the military were repelling repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on the capital.

Russian authorities have tightened security ahead of the parade and cellphone internet outages have been reported amid electronic counter measures aimed at foiling more potential drone attacks.

As the Red Square parade and other festivities unfolded in Moscow, dozens of European officials were meeting in Lviv, in western Ukraine, to endorse the creation of a special tribunal tasked to prosecute Russian officials accused of war crimes. AP