MOSCOW, May 9 (Bernama-TASS) -- Russia marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II with a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square on Thursday, TASS news agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with war veterans, foreign dignitaries and guests, viewed the event from the central reviewing stand.
This year’s Victory Day commemorations saw the presence of leaders from 27 countries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Others present included Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie.
The event also welcomed foreign military contingents from 13 countries, including Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, Vietnam, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
China’s military unit was reported to be the largest foreign contingent in this year’s parade.
Russian foot columns comprised various armed forces units, including regiments and battalions from different military branches, cadets from Suvorov and Nakhimov schools, members of the Young Army youth movement and combatants of the ongoing special military operation.
The mechanised segment was led by the iconic T-34 tanks, followed by both light and heavy armoured vehicles, as well as modern military hardware.
Last year’s parade featured over 9,000 personnel, 61 weapons systems and 15 combat aircraft.
This year’s celebration continues to serve as a key symbol of Russia’s military history and wartime sacrifice.
– BERNAMA-TASS
