What Victory Day looked like in Moscow: An isolated Putin, nuclear threats and “patriotic emotion”

Russia’s strategic nuclear forces are “always” ready for battle, Vladimir Putin stressed Thursday in his speech celebrating the Soviet victory over Hitler, amid tensions over the conflict in Ukraine, according to AFP.

The Russian president oversaw the May 9 military parade in Red Square, the centerpiece of the Kremlin’s narrative extolling the country’s power. More than 9,000 soldiers, according to Russian media, armored vehicles, rocket launchers and fighter jets took part.

“Russia will do everything to avoid a global confrontation. But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic (nuclear) forces are always on alert,” the Russian president said.

He recently ordered tactical nuclear exercises involving troops stationed near Ukraine in response to Western “threats”.

On Thursday, Vladimir Putin said Moscow, which sees itself as a counterweight to Anglo-Saxon influence, rejects the “claim of exclusivity” by any government or alliance.

He then reiterated that Russia is going through a “difficult period”. “The fate of our homeland and its future depends on each of us,” he said, saluting the “heroes” fighting for Moscow at the front.

Vladimir Putin, 71, is presenting the assault on Kiev as an existential conflict and promising his fellow citizens “victory” at every opportunity in the fight against a Ukrainian government accused of “neo-Nazism”.

The head of the Kremlin has long used the memory of the Second World War – in which 27 million people died on the Soviet side – to present himself as the heir to the power of the USSR and to legitimize his own power.

Ukrainian strike at 1,200 km

The parade is at the heart of the Kremlin’s patriotic education, denounced as militaristic by the opposition.

Elena Melikhova, 44, who came to see the parade in Moscow with her son, told AFP that these commemorations were “very important for future generations”: “It’s very emotional. And also very scary”.

The parade in Moscow’s Red Square, however, did not escape the security and diplomatic consequences of the assault on Kiev.

Vladimir Putin, isolated on the international stage, was surrounded by only a handful of allied heads of state on Thursday.

They included the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, according to the Kremlin, as well as the presidents of Laos, Cuba and Guinea-Bissau.

Some parades have also been canceled for “security” reasons, particularly in regions bordering Ukraine, which is regularly hit by airstrikes.

Two women were killed and a third wounded in separate Ukrainian attacks on Thursday in two villages very close to Ukraine in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, according to their respective governors.

During the night, eleven people had already been injured in an attack on the Russian city of Belgorod and its surroundings, according to Governor Viaceslav Gladkov.

Ukraine also claimed Thursday a strike against a Russian refinery in Bashkiria at a record distance of 1,200 kilometers from its border, an attack which, according to local authorities, caused no casualties.

Advances on the front

Unlike last year at this time, the Russian military is in a much better position on the front: although it has suffered heavy losses and failed to make real progress on the Ukrainian front, it has recently made a number of territorial gains in face of Ukrainian troops in distress.

Kiev’s counteroffensive has failed, and Ukraine now fears that its adversary, which has more men, more equipment and a stronger military industry, will launch a major operation come summer.

In a meeting with Ukrainian fighters broadcast on Thursday, Putin called for Russia’s weaponry to be “always one step ahead” and also acknowledged that Moscow is managing to obtain technology for military use on the international market despite sanctions western

Meanwhile, domestically, Vladimir Putin’s power is more indisputable than ever. Repression crushed all dissident voices. His main opponent, Alexei Navalny, died in prison in mid-February under unclear circumstances.

The Russian president has just been reinstated as head of state until 2030, with the possibility of a new term until 2036.