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Moscow event is taking place under tight security amid fears Ukraine could carry out drone strikes
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Russian combat drones used to attack Ukrainian towns and cities will be shown at a Russian Victory Day parade in Moscow, according to state TV.
Russian state TV’s Channel One said the Lancet drone and the Geran-2 drone would be among those shown off in the parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany.
Chinese president Xi Jinping was among world leaders who attended the parade and was seen sat next to Mr Putin. There were around 11,000 troops compared to only 7,000 a few years ago, according to reports.
During the military parade at Moscow’s Red Square, Mr Putin paid tribute to the Allied forces and vowed to defend the Russian army.
The Kremlin leader said Russian society was “supporting the participants of the special military operation” in Ukraine today as the motherland “felt the joy” of defeating Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945.
It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the parade as “bile and lies”. “It will be a parade of cynicism. There is just no other way to describe it,” he said on Thursday.
Poland and France will sign a treaty on Friday in which they will commit to helping each other in the event of a military threat, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
The treaty will be signed amid security concerns in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which borders Poland, and amid European doubts about U.S. President Donald Trump’s long-term commitment to the continent’s security.
The treaty, which the two countries will sign in the French city of Nancy, covers topics including defence, energy, nuclear, and transport matters.
“The provision that we have in the treaty is…that in the event of a threat of attacks on Poland and France, both countries commit to provide assistance, including military assistance,” Tusk told reporters before leaving for France.
Europe supports President Donald Trump’s plan for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, with both the EU and the US prepared to heighten sanctions pressure on Moscow if it does not take peace talks seriously, Germany’s new chancellor said.
Speaking on his first visit to Brussels since being appointed, Friedrich Merz added that the EU and US would continue to support Ukraine, upping their provision if necessary, though he said Germany continued to oppose joint EU debt to finance defence spending.
“We call on Russia at last to set out on the path for real peace negotiations,” he told reporters on Friday. “If that doesn’t happen, we won’t hesitate, together with our European partners and the US, to increase the sanctions pressure.”
Russian combat drones used to attack Ukrainian towns and cities will be shown at a Russian Victory Day parade in Moscow, according to state TV.
Russian state TV’s Channel One said the Lancet drone and the Geran-2 drone would be among those shown off in the parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany.
The ZALA Lancet drone is a loitering munition used for both strike and reconnaissance missions which has been reported to have attacked and destroyed numerous pieces of Ukrainian military hardware, including tanks and a military jet.
The Geran-2 drone is a Russian-made suicide or kamikaze drone whose design originated in Iran where an earlier version was made. They have been used to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure and Kyiv has accused Moscow of using them to hit residential buildings too.
Taiwan’s government on Friday criticised Russia and China for distorting World War Two history, saying Chinese communist forces made “no substantial contribution” to fighting Japan and instead took the opportunity to expand their own forces.
Taiwan has since the start of this year sought to cast the war as a lesson to China in why aggression will end in failure, remind the world it was not the government in Beijing that won the war.
The Chinese government at the time was the Republic of China, part of the U.S., British and Russian-led alliance, and its forces did much of the fighting against Japan, putting on pause a bitter civil war with Mao Zedong’s Communists whose military also fought the Japanese.
The republican government then fled to Taiwan in 1949 after finally being defeated by Mao, and Republic of China remains the democratic island’s official name.
Responding to comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Chinese President Xi Jinping that the war was won under the leadership of China’s communist party, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said it was the Republic of China government and people who fought and ultimately won.
“The Chinese communists only took the opportunity to expand and consolidate communist forces, and made no substantial contribution to the war of resistance, let alone ‘leading’ the war of resistance,” it said.
Chinese-made ATV vehicles were driven through Moscow’s Red Square during Russia’s Victory Day Parade, footage showed.
The Desertcross 1000-3 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), equipped with guns, were driven through Moscow on Friday morning.
The vehicles are manufactured by the Chinese company Odes Industries and over 2,000 of them were delivered to Russia in 2023.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has spoken at a Moscow Victory Day parade that was slammed as “bile and lies” by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
During the military parade at Moscow’s Red Square, Mr Putin paid tribute to the Allied forces and vowed to defend the Russian army.
The Kremlin leader said Russian society was “supporting the participants of the special military operation” in Ukraine today as the motherland “felt the joy” of defeating Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945.
“I thank the efforts of the Allied forces, resistance, and the people of China, everyone who fought for a peaceful future. Glory to the people who won the war,” Mr Putin said.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has thanked the Allies forces for defeating Nazi Germany.
“Dear friends, in the Second World War, almost 80 per cent of the population were involved in the complete defeat of Nazi Germany and militarist Japan,” Mr Putin said.
“I thank the efforts of the Allied forces, resistance, and the people of China, everyone who fought for a peaceful future. Glory to the people who won the war.”
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Ukraine war latest: ‘Drones used in invasion’ shown in Putin’s Victory Day parade – The Independent
