The West is risking inciting a global conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed during his speech on Red Square at Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations. 

Following the victory parade, held annually on May 9 to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, Putin accused Western nations of “arrogance” and claimed they have forgotten the Soviet Union's significant role in winning World War II.

“In the West, they would like to forget the lessons of the Second World War,” Putin said. “But we remember that the fate of mankind was decided in the grand battles near Moscow and Leningrad, Rzhev, Stalingrad, Kursk and Kharkiv, near Minsk, Smolensk and Kyiv, in heavy, bloody battles from Murmansk to the Caucasus and Crimea.”

According to Putin, as well as forgetting the heroics of the Soviet Union, the West is now stoking conflicts across the world.

“We know what the exorbitance of such ambitions leads to. Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash,” Putin said. “But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness.”

 

S-400 Triumph mobile surface-to-air missile system

The parade, which was much less impressive compared to the May 9 celebrations prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, featured just one tank – the legendary Soviet T-34.

The parade showcased not only the T-34 but also Yars nuclear missile launchers, Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile systems, and the S-400 Triumph mobile surface-to-air missile system. Additionally, it featured numerous Bumerang amphibious wheeled infantry fighting vehicles and Tigr all-terrain infantry mobility vehicles, among other notable vehicles.

Several aircraft also took part in a flyby over Red Square, painting the sky in the colours of the Russian tricolour.

Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system