The highly revered Victory Day in Russia, a crucial secular celebration upholding the country’s core values of military strength and ethical righteousness, is tainted this year due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
This Tuesday marks the 78th year since the surrender of Germany in World War II, a victory achieved through a ruthless Red Army offensive that expelled German troops from Stalingrad, deep within Russia, pushing them to Berlin, a distance of approximately 2,200 kilometres (1,300 miles).
The Soviet Union suffered massive casualties in the war, with an estimated 20 million lives lost. The courage and sacrifice that led to the defeat of Germany remain pivotal to the national memory.
However, many regions have decided to forego their May 9 celebrations this year due to the potential risks of Ukrainian attacks.
Despite alleged Ukrainian drone attack attempts on the Kremlin, Moscow’s Red Square parade will proceed under heightened security precautions. Drone usage has been prohibited once more in the Russian capital, and car-sharing services have been temporarily restricted in the city center.
In Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, authorities have also banned drone use in anticipation of a parade. Certain sections of the city’s vast network of rivers and canals have prohibited using jet skis.
Regardless of the formidable weaponry displayed in Moscow’s famous square, Russia’s struggle to advance in Ukraine tarnishes the image of its military’s invincibility.
Despite initial successes in seizing large portions of Ukraine, Russian forces have since pulled back in certain northern and southern Ukraine areas, failing to capture Kyiv and Bakhmut, a minor city with dubious strategic value, despite months of brutal fighting.
President Vladimir Putin is expected to laud the Red Army’s resolve to eradicate Nazism during his parade speech, reiterating his claim that Russia morally battling an alleged Nazi regime in Ukraine, a nation led by a Jewish president.
However, the international community has widely condemned Russia for its missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians. Meanwhile, once allied with Moscow to defeat Nazi Germany, Western nations now supply Ukraine with billions of dollars in weaponry.
Opinions are split over whether the drone incident at the Kremlin on May 3 was genuine or fabricated to justify escalating missile attacks on Ukraine. Either scenario threatens to erode the sense of safety among Russians, who are already unnerved by a surge in attacks, likely perpetrated by Ukraine or domestic adversaries.
Two freight trains were derailed due to bomb explosions in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine earlier this week. Interestingly, local authorities didn’t attribute these incidents to Ukraine, potentially downplaying Ukraine’s capacity for sabotage.
However, in March, the same authorities reported that two individuals were killed by alleged Ukrainian infiltrators in the Bryansk region. The area has also intermittently experienced cross-border shelling, including an incident last month that resulted in four fatalities.
Russia attacked three high-profile advocates of the war in Ukraine. A car bombing in the Nizhny Novgorod region, blamed on Ukraine and the U.S., critically injured nationalist author Zakhar Prilepin and killed his driver last week.
The previous year, Darya Dugina, a pundit from a nationalist TV channel, was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow. Additionally, authorities alleged that Ukrainian intelligence was responsible for the April death of Vladlen Tatarsky, a prominent pro-war blogger in St. Petersburg, who was killed when a bomb hidden inside a statuette exploded at a restaurant gathering.
As security concerns escalate, one of the most recognized Victory Day ceremonies, the “Immortal Regiment” processions, where people march carrying images of relatives who served or died in World War II, has been cancelled.
In stark contrast to the stone-faced soldiers rhythmically marching across Red Square in highly choreographed military parades, these processions exude a deep sense of heartfelt emotion.
However, despite the processions’ poignant atmosphere and impressive size, authorities cancelled the event due to escalating security concerns. Russian analyst Dmitry Oreshkin, currently based at the Free University in Riga, Latvia, suggested that “the risks were becoming prohibitive.” He questioned the safety of such public gatherings in the current climate, where even drones could penetrate borders and pose a threat.
