Russia show off new tank in Victory Day parade

RUSSIA showed off new 
machines of war, including a highly sophisticated tank, yesterday in the annual Victory Day military parade that marks the surrender of Nazi Germany and the Red Army’s key role in the defeat.

The Armata tank drew a round of strong applause as it rumbled through Moscow’s Red Square, part of a long convoy that ranged from the Second World War era to the most modern. Also on view for the first time at the parade was a lumbering RS-24 Yars ICBM launcher along with several new, smaller vehicles.

Victory Day is Russia’s most important secular holiday, both commemorating the 
Soviet Union’s huge suffering in the war and highlighting Russia’s portrayal of itself as a force for peace and security. This year’s event, on the 70th anniversary of the surrender, was the biggest military parade since the Soviet Union’s collapse. Smaller parades were scheduled to take place in 25 other Russian cities.

In his speech to the assembled troops and veterans, President Vladimir Putin said that the carnage of the war underlined the importance of international cooperation, but “in the past decades we have seen attempts to create a unipolar world”. That phrase is often used by Russia to criticise the United States’ purported aim to dominate world affairs.

The observances were overshadowed by the near-
complete absence of European leaders from the ceremony. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to arrive in Moscow today, a visit that will include recognition of the Red Army’s sacrifices.

The president of the Czech Republic and the prime minister of Slovakia are in Moscow for the events but also stayed away from the parade, as did Sir Nicholas Soames, the UK government’s representative.

The cold shoulder that European leaders turned toward Victory Day underlines the tensions between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis. As Western sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine continue to bite, Russia has increasingly appeared to pivot away from Europe and focus more on developing relations with China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was the most prominent world leader to attend the parade and Putin took special note in his speech of China’s role in the war, saying that, like the Soviet Union, “it lost many, many millions of people”.

Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian defence analyst and expert on weaponry, said the parade was intended to send a message to the world that Russia is back as a great military power.

“It’s a sign of Russia’s defiance, that the Western 
attempts to kind of ignore Russia will not work, that Russia is strong and it has powerful friends,” Felgenhauer said.

During the parade, Putin and China’s president were talking much of the time through interpreters, he said.

An air of grievance mixes with the annual commemoration of the Nazi defeat, with Russians frequently complaining that the West undervalues the Red Army’s role and even tries to “rewrite history”.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who met Putin after the parade, echoed that strain. “No-one can deny the role that Russia, the Soviet Union, played in the fight with Nazism and history will never forget,” he said.

For veterans of the war, in which the USSR is estimated to have lost 26 million people including 8 million soldiers, the parade was an intensely emotional experience.

“When we fought, we had a couple of automatic pistols and a rifle – now look at all the amazing military equipment we’ve got,” said Valentina Schulgina, 92, who fought in the Battle of Stalingrad, regarded by some as the bloodiest battle in history.

In all, about 200 pieces of military hardware and 16,500 troops took part in the parade, which concluded with a 
flypast of military aircraft. One group of warplanes flew in a tight formation depicting the number “70”.

The Armata tank that was one of the highlights of the parade is regarded by some military analysts as surpassing Western tanks. It is the first to have an internal armoured capsule surrounding its three-man crew and a remotely controlled turret with an automatic loading system. State-run website RT.com said the Armata “is a cutting-edge vehicle with an unmanned turret armed with a brand new 125mm smoothbore cannon, which is the most powerful gun of its kind to date in terms of muzzle energy”. However, there was embarrassment for the military on Thursday when an Armata tank stalled opposite Vladimir Lenin’s tomb during a dress rehearsal.

Other prominent figures at the parade included Alexander Zaldostanov, the leather-clad leader of the nationalist motorcycle club Night Wolves, with whom Putin has ridden.

“There are three things to say after the parade today: the enemy will be destroyed; victory will be ours; Russia forward,” said Zaldostanov, known as The Surgeon.

Meanwhile, US servicemen marched with Russian soldiers in the Victory Day parade in Belarus yesterday. The show of Allied unity in Minsk was in sharp contrast to the military parade in Moscow.

Opening yesterday’s parade, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said it was “deeply symbolic” that representatives of the US and Russian armed forces were taking part.

Forty members of the US Air Force band were among more than 5,000 troops in the parade.

Belarus, once part of the 
Soviet Union, has close ties with Russia, but Lukashenko has tried to serve as a bridge to the West by hosting Ukraine peace talks.