Panicky Putin rushes through speech at flop Victory Day Parade in ring of steel after Kremlin 'assassination bid' | The Sun
VLADIMIR Putin rushed through a speech to open a diminished a parade marking victory in World War II
Fewer troops than normal marched through Moscow's Red Square for the Victory Day inside amid tight security after a suspected assassination attempt on the tyrant.
Footage showed a flying object exploding in flames overnight above the fortress in central Moscow – where the president has his office and an apartment – in an attack Russia blamed on Ukraine.
Putin, 70, was not inside at the time and was not injured, the Kremlin said.
Ahead of the parade, he took his seat as the giant clock in Red Square struck 10am with the troops lined up in front of him.
He then rushed through a speech in which he bizarrely blamed the West for the Ukraine war before the event got underway.
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The parade saw Russia's giant Topol nuclear missiles rumble through the square long with WWII vintage commemorative tanks.
But with Russian losses mounting in Ukraine, far fewer troops were marching this year.
None of the modern hardware that Russia likes to show off was on display and the usual flypast over Moscow and other cities was cancelled again.
The event was this year came amid tight security with the use of drones and ride-sharing services in its largest cities curbed and even jet skis banned on the canals of St. Petersburg.
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Snipers were also seen on the roofs of buildings around Red Square.
More than two dozen cities and towns – near the Ukraine border, but also in more distant Russian regions – have cancelled plans to stage their own military parades over security concerns.
Authorities have scrapped plans to hold so-called 'Immortal Regiment' marches in which people carry photos of veterans or family members who died in World War II.
Ahead of the parade, Russia launched a barrage of drone, missile and air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight.
Ukraine said its air defences shot down 23 of 25 missiles, fired chiefly at the capital Kyiv, and there were no reported casualties.
The tyrant, who has become the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, will address troops standing at attention.
There have also been suspected sabotage attacks on oil depots and trains as well as assassinations of pro-Kremlin figures.
More than two dozen cities and towns near the Ukraine border as well as more distant Russian regions, have cancelled plans to stage their own military parades over security concerns.
The parade marks the day when Nazi Germany surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1945.
Putin has long used it to rally public support and demonstrate the country’s military prowess and to boost his power by stoking nationalist fervour.
He has also used the memory of the Soviet war effort to justify the invasion of Ukraine, claiming it is fighting "fascists" supported by the West.
Ahead of the parade, Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, issued a series of blistering, profanity-laced videos.
Earlier on Monday, Ukraine had commemorated the end of World War II together with Europe.
President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Russian forces would be defeated just as Nazi Germany was beaten in 1945.
The Ukrainian leader said the Kremlin was responsible for "aggression and annexation, occupation and deportation", as well as "mass murder and torture".
Extraordinary footage appeared to show the moment a drone exploded over the Senate Palace, with flames and smoke seen coming from the 18th century dome at 2.27am.
Grandstands set up for the Victory Day parade on May 9 can be seen in Red Square below, in front of the fortress walls.
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