Putin's 'one-tank' military parade was an embarrassment for Russia, analysts say

Russia's scaled-down Victory Day subject parade showed not lone Moscow's insecurities implicit imaginable Ukrainian attacks but besides highlighted the country's depleted subject resources owed to the conflict, governmental analysts said.

May 9 is simply a nationalist vacation successful Russia erstwhile it commemorates the Soviet Union's triumph implicit Nazi Germany successful World War II. It is arguably the astir important time successful Russia's nationalist calendar and history, forming a cardinal portion of the country's modern nationalist identity.

This year's subject parade done Red Square successful Moscow and celebrations astir the state were noticeably smaller than successful erstwhile years oregon wholly canceled, with six regions (including annexed Crimea) and astatine slightest 20 cities halting their commemorations.

In Moscow connected Tuesday, the subject parade was much downbeat, with nary fly-past oregon "Immortal Regiment" processions — which are usually large-scale nationalist events to commemorate those killed successful World War II. There were besides acold less troops and subject hardware connected amusement than successful erstwhile years.

The information that lone 1 Stalin-era vessel was connected show successful the subject parade done Red Square was peculiarly eye-catching, analysts noted.

"It would beryllium hard to representation a much fitting awesome of Russia's declining subject fortunes than the show of a solitary Stalin-era vessel trundling crossed Red Square during the country's accepted Victory Day celebrations connected May 9," Peter Dickinson, the exertion of the UkraineAlert blog astatine the Atlantic Council, commented Tuesday.

"For the past 2 decades, Vladimir Putin has utilized Victory Day to showcase modern Russia's resurgence arsenic a subject superpower, with dozens of the precise latest tanks typically taking portion successful each yearly parade. This year, however, the lone vessel connected show was a T-34 exemplary dating backmost to World War II."

Dickinson noted that, "inevitably, the embarrassing lack of tanks astatine this year's Victory Day parade has been wide interpreted arsenic further grounds of Russia's catastrophic losses successful Ukraine," a constituent echoed by the U.K. Ministry of Defense.

Commenting Wednesday, the ministry noted that "the make-up of Russia's yearly Victory Day Parade successful Red Square highlighted the materiel and strategical communications challenges" the Russian subject is facing 15 months into the warfare successful Ukraine.

"Over 8,000 unit reportedly took portion successful the parade, but the bulk were auxiliary, paramilitary forces, and cadets from subject grooming establishments," the ministry noted successful its latest quality update connected Twitter, adding that "the lone unit from deployable formations of regular forces were contingents of Railway Troops and subject police."

A spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry wasn't instantly disposable for remark erstwhile contacted by CNBC.

Security concerns were the ostensible crushed for scaled-back Victory Day events successful Russia, with an alleged drone onslaught connected the Kremlin past week (that Russia blamed connected Ukraine and the U.S. which they some denied) acting arsenic a precursor to — and justification for — a lower-profile event.

But subject analysts noted that the Kremlin was besides apt keen to debar immoderate accidental for nationalist disapproval of its invasion, which it inactive maintains is simply a "special subject operation" — the lone notation of warfare connected Tuesday being Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion to crowds successful Red Square that "a existent warfare is being waged against our Motherland" contempt the information that Russia invaded its neighbour Ukraine.

Noting the 1 solitary "vintage" T-34 vessel connected display, the U.K.'s Defense Ministry said that contempt dense losses successful Ukraine, Russia could person fielded much armored vehicles but that "the authorities apt refrained from doing truthful due to the fact that they privation to debar home disapproval astir prioritising parades implicit combat operations."

The Atlantic Council's Dickinson noted excessively that the banning of this year's Immortal Regiment marches, usually massively fashionable affairs erstwhile the Russian nationalist get a accidental to commemorate their loved ones mislaid successful WWII, "was an adjacent bigger blow" and that the Kremlin was apt acrophobic that household members of Russian soldiers killed successful Ukraine could question to participate.

Ukraine was evidently speedy to remark connected the scaled-down Victory Day parade.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's authoritative Twitter relationship quipped that "modern Russian subject instrumentality tin beryllium recovered overmuch much easy astatine Ukrainian subject trophies exhibitions than astatine the Victory Parade successful Moscow" portion Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said connected Twitter that the full of Ukraine was laughing astatine Russia's 1 tank.

Ukraine continues to region itself from Russia's sphere of power and orbit and connected Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a draught instrumentality to the Ukrainian Parliament proposing that May 8 beryllium known arsenic "the Day of Remembrance and Victory implicit Nazism successful the Second World War" alternatively than May 9, arsenic successful Russia and different erstwhile Soviet republics.

He said that from present on, May 9 would beryllium known successful Ukraine arsenic "Europe Day," with Zelenskyy noting that "we volition commemorate our historical unity — the unity of each Europeans who destroyed Nazism and volition decision Ruscism," a connection Ukraine uses to picture "Russian fascism."