Nicolas Tonev, edited by Corentin Alloune / Photo credit: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
modified to
08:37, May 09, 2023
In Russia, May 9 marks the act of Nazi Germany’s capitulation to the Allied troops. A propaganda tool for Vladimir Putin, the event is likely to be less important this year due to a lack of equipment and soldiers.
It is a May 9th at a discount that the Russians will experience in this year 2023. While the Russian authorities are striving to present the war in Ukraine to justify it to the population, as the continuation of the fight against the nazism, the celebration of the victory of 1945 has a bitter taste this year between fear of a Ukrainian attack and the public exposure of the lack of men and means for the parades.
A lack of soldiers for the ceremony
More than 20 cities in the west of the country and Siberia cancel the parades, others reduce them. The equation is simple: the Russian army would have around two million men, a low estimate. More than 100,000 men have died or been injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict and at least 500,000 of them are at the front. For this workforce to be operational, two soldiers for one combatant are needed in the rear base. By removing the units that monitor the more than 60,000 kilometers of land and sea borders of the country, there are not many soldiers and materials left for the ceremonies.
So Moscow will still try to put on a good show. The parade training images show in the capital the intercontinental missile launchers on trucks, recent armored vehicles and the air force will be present, which allows the Kremlin to affirm that everything will go as planned. It therefore seems likely that Vladimir Putin will be present in Red Square to reassert his power at the head of the country.