News / Russia

Moscow manifests military might with pomp and parade

Monday, 09 May 2016 11:07 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 09 May 2016 11:27 PM ]

Russian Su-25 assault aircraft release smoke in the colors of the Russian flag while flying over Moscow’s Red Square during the Victory Day military parade. (AFP)

Russia has marked the 71st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War with one of the largest ever military parades in Moscow.

In Monday’s parade, Russia showcased its latest military hardware, including long-range missiles, tanks, fighter jets, heavy bombers and helicopters.

*Russia's MSTA-M self-propelled 152 mm howitzers at the parade*

*A Russian Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile system at the parade*

*A Russian Buk-M2 surface-to-air missile system*

Most of the aircraft that took part in the parade have been engaged in the battle against the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in Syria.

Armed with modernized AK-74M assault rifles, Russia’s newly formed National Guard also took part in the parade, along with female armed forces officers who took part-part in their first-ever march.

*Russian servicewomen march at Red Square during the Victory Day military parade.*

According to reports, 10,000 military personnel, 135 armored vehicles and 71 aircraft took part in this year’s event which was presided over by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian President and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin at a military parade to mark the 71st anniversary of victory in the 1941-1945 WWII, in Moscow's Red Square. (Sputnik)

While addressing the crowds gathered in Moscow’s Red Square, Putin called for the creation of a "non-bloc system of international security" to battle the global threat of terrorism.

“Today our civilization has faced brutality and violence – terrorism has become a global threat…We must defeat this evil, and Russia is open to join forces with all countries and is ready to work on the creation of a modern, non-aligned system of international security,” he said.

“The lessons of history show that peace on our planet doesn’t establish itself, that you need to be on high alert,” Putin added.

*Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu salutes as he reviews units during the Victory Day military parade.*

“Our fathers and grandfathers defeated the powerful, merciless enemy, in front of whom many countries folded,” the Russian president said, adding, “It was our servicemen who gave the Nazis and their accomplices full retaliation for millions of victims, for all the barbarities and excesses on our land.”

*Russian servicemen march at Red Square during the Victory Day military parade.*

The term Great Patriotic War is used in Russia and most other former republics of the Soviet Union to describe the war fought from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945 along the fronts of the Eastern Front of the World War II between the Soviet Union’s Red Army and Nazi Germany. However, the term is not used by the states who later joined NATO.

“I'm sure the veterans today are proud of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren – they are not letting [the veterans] down and will always remember the great victory, the heroic deeds of the glorious generation of victors,” he said.