Putin brutally mocked over lone tank in Russia's Victory Day parade
Vladimir Putin’s annual Victory Day parade in Moscow meant to showcase Russia’s military might failed to impress Tuesday, with critics poking fun at the lone World War II-era tank that was seen rolling forlornly through Red Square.
The event celebrating Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 was a drastically pared-down affair compared to years past, featuring a mere 8,000 soldiers — the lowest number since 2008.
Even the procession in 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic, featured some 13,000 soldiers. Last May, more than a month into the invasion of Ukraine, 11,000 troops took part in the parade.
This time, there was no fly-over of fighter jets, and the entire event lasted less than the usual hour.
Instead of phalanxes of modern battle tanks thundering through the center of Russia’s capital, a lone 83-year-old T-34 tank flying a red flag trundled through Moscow’s main square under Putin’s watchful gaze.
“This is weak. There are no tanks,” said spectator Yelena Orlova. “We’re upset, but that’s all right; it will be better in the future.”
For comparison, last year’s parade featured some of Russia’s newer tanks, a T-14 Armata and a T-74.
Instead of formations of modern tanks thundering through Red Square, spectators at Tuesday’s Victory Day parade witnessed a lone World War II-era T-34. Moskva News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
The pared-down parade in Moscow was brutally mocked by Russia’s critics around the globe. Moskva News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
Commenters around the world took to Twitter to pour scorn on the pitiful display.
“It looked like a parade of a 3rd class dictatorship,” scoffed Sergej Sumlenny, an expert on Eastern Europe.
“If you look well Putin is crying….because this is his last tank,” another user quipped.
The absence of modern battle tanks in the procession suggests that Russia has none to spare due to its growing deficit of military equipment more than 14 months into the Ukraine war. Moskva News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
About 8,000 soldiers marched in the parade Tuesday — the lowest number since 2008. Moskva News Agency/AFP via Getty Images
“The Vatican has 1 less tank then (sic) Russia. Let that sink in,” a third noted.
Several pro-Ukraine critics pointed out that the T-34 was originally developed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union during World War II.
“Therefore, we can say that this is the first (but not last) #Ukrainian tank to drive through Red Square in Moscow,” a Twitter commenter gleefully remarked.
Inna Sovsun, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, shared a clip of the single tank on her account.
“Russia’s Victory Day parade, showcasing their impressive military prowess with…a tank from the Cold War times? Second biggest army in the world, they said?” Sovsun tweeted.
Vladimir Putin delivered a fiery speech in which he railed against “Western global elites.” SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images
The embarrassing showing appears to expose Russia’s growing shortage of military equipment due to the massive losses that Putin’s forces have sustained in Ukraine over the past 14 months.
The lonesome T-34 relic seen in Moscow Tuesday suggests that Russia’s military does not have enough spare battle tanks to show off because they are all desperately needed on the front lines.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s latest estimates, Kyiv’s forces have destroyed 3,734 Russian tanks since February 2022. The Post could not independently verify that number.
Multiple modern tanks took part in last year’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, which was held not long after the nation’s invasion of Ukraine. AFP via Getty Images
Facing a seemingly acute deficit of weaponry, Russia has turned to revamping crumbling Cold War-era tanks to get them ready for battle.
Undaunted by the diminished scale of the festivities, Putin delivered an impassioned 10-minute tirade, in which he bashed “Western global elites” and warned that civilization was at a “decisive turning point.”
“A real war has been unleashed against our motherland,” he thundered, repeating what has become a familiar refrain intended to galvanize his citizens.
At least 24 Russian cities have scrapped their Victory Day events, citing unspecified “security concerns.”
With Post wires
Source: New York Post
