May 9th, the date of the German surrender in Russia, is commemorated every year with large displays of force across the country. This year, several military schools, cadet corps, "as well as the military equipment column will not participate in the military parade (...) due to the current operational situation," the ministry announced Tuesday evening on Telegram.

Videos and demonstrations of aerial acrobatics

The parade is expected to include representatives from all branches of the armed forces, and videos showing military personnel "carrying out tasks in the area of the military special operation," a reference to the war in Ukraine, will be shown, he said.

An aerobatic display is still planned. “During the aerial part of the parade, aircraft from the Russian aerobatic teams will fly over Red Square and, at the end of the parade, pilots of Su-25 fighter jets will color the Moscow sky with the colors of the flag of the Russian Federation,” according to the ministry.

A major parade last year

Last year, around twenty foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, attended the commemorations in Moscow of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, which included a particularly large parade.

Some 11,000 soldiers, T-90 tanks, Iskander missiles, and drones—a first—participated in the parade. The imposing Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was also displayed in Red Square.

The offensive in Ukraine launched by Moscow in February 2022 has entered its fifth year, mobilizing significant economic resources and costing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.