Russia holds Victory Day Parade on Moscow’s Red Square

MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. A military parade to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War began on Moscow’s Red Square.

The parade began with the march of the Honor Guard’s banner group carrying the Russian national flag and the legendary Victory Banner across Red Square. The Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag by soldiers of the Soviet 150th Idritsa rifle division in May 1945.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, war veterans and guests are watching the parade from the central reviewing stand on Red Square. Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu is reviewing the military parade, which is commanded by Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief Army General Oleg Salyukov.

This year, Russia’s Victory Day Parade on Moscow’s Red Square involves over 8,000 troops, including 530 fighters of the special military operation in Ukraine, and 125 items of military hardware.

This year, the infantry column comprises 30 parade units. A legendary T-34 tank will traditionally lead the mechanized column at the Victory Day Parade. The military parade’s rehearsals also involved Tigr-M armored vehicles, BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, Bumerang infantry fighting vehicles, Iskander-M tactical missile systems, S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems and Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers.