Ukraine mocks Putin’s Victory Day with ‘parade of captured Russian tanks’
- The country’s defence ministry said its 93rd Mechanised Brigade ‘ruined the holiday’ for Russian occupiers with a display of trophy armoured vehicles
- Despite earlier warnings, Putin made his Victory Day speech without a single direct mention of Ukraine or a declaration of all-out war
Ukraine’s government mocked Russia’s celebration of Victory Day by holding what it said was a “parade” of tanks that Ukrainian forces captured from Russian troops amid Moscow’s war with the eastern European country.
The Ukrainian defence ministry said in a tweet on Wednesday that the Ukrainian military’s 93rd Mechanised Brigade “held a parade of trophy Russian tanks, ruining the holiday for the occupiers”, in reference to Victory Day.
“Maybe aggressors think that by arming #UAarmy with Russian trophy equipment, it will affect the turn of NATO-style armament? New clever plan,” the Ukrainian defence ministry taunted in the tweet.
Russia’s annual Victory Day, held on May 9, commemorates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Every year, Russia marks the occasion with a grand military parade in Moscow’s Red Square.
This year, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day speech passed without a single direct mention of Ukraine or a declaration of all-out war, despite Western officials’ warnings that Putin might escalate the conflict around the holiday.