Since 2008, under Putin, the anniversary has also increasingly become an occasion to burnish an image of post-Communist Russia restored to the greatness of former years.

In Soviet times, Victory Day commemorations were more low-key, with the emphasis on honouring veterans and their huge sacrifices, which are seared into older Russians' folk memory. Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss this as absurd and say Moscow is waging an imperial-style war to seize territory. The celebrations in Russia typically include a military parade on Red Square in Moscow, which features troops, tanks, and other military equipment. Putin casts the Ukraine war as an existential battle for national survival, just like World War Two, saying Russian forces are fighting Ukrainian 'Nazis' in the pay of a hostile West which wants to inflict a 'strategic defeat' on Russia. Victory Day was a major event in the country's history and had a profound impact on Russian society and culture. Kyiv has said it expects increased efforts by Russian forces to take the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut ahead of Moscow's Victory Day celebrations. But the war in Ukraine War shadows Victory Day, Russias integral holiday National Skip to main content You have permission to edit this article. This year's anniversary comes as Russian casualties continue to mount in the Ukraine war, now in its 15th month, ahead of a planned counter-offensive by Ukraine to recapture occupied land. 4 hours ago &0183 &32 Victory Day is Russia’s most important secular holiday, and it lauds two tenets that are central to the country’s identity: military might and moral rectitude. Moscow also blamed Kyiv and the West for a car bombing on Saturday that wounded a prominent Russian nationalist writer, Zakhar Prilepin, in a village about 400 km (250 miles) east of Moscow. It branded the attack as an attempt to assassinate Putin, an allegation rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies. Putin's office linked what it called the 'terrorist' drone attack on the Kremlin in the early hours of May 3 to the Victory Day parade, which takes place below the walls of the ancient citadel. Russians' security concerns have grown over the past week following drone attacks targeting fuel depots and freight trains, while media on Sunday also reported overnight multiple blasts across Russian-occupied Crimea. The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two, more than any other country. as many are beginning to forget what May 9 is and what it stands for.' 'People have to know what our great-grandfathers, our grandfathers and grandmothers went through. 'I think we need to hold (the parade) to boost patriotism among people as it is fluctuating due to the special military operation,' said Andrei Kucheryavykh, a resident of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, visiting Moscow with his son.

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