No tanks, fewer guests: ISW says Putin's threats to Kyiv show weakness
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
Russia threatens Ukraine with corresponding measures in case of provocations during the May 9 parade. However, these threats themselves indicate that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is unable to reliably protect either rear areas or the capital, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War.
Analysts believe that the Kremlin leader is stubbornly holding on to the parade because he does not want to admit that Ukraine has long since brought the war onto Russia's own territory.
Why the parade will take place without equipment
This year's May 9 celebration on Red Square in Moscow will be the most modest in years. No military equipment — only a marching column. The number of guests has been reduced to several hundred instead of the usual thousands. The event itself will last less than an hour.
Pro-Russian ultranationalist bloggers, who form part of Putin's electoral base, are increasingly criticizing him for refusing to recognize the new reality: Ukraine is striking deep into Russia — and this is no longer news, but the norm.
Drones over the parade and threats from Moscow
On the night of May 4, a drone attacked Moscow, five days before the parade. On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the opening of the VIII European Political Community Summit in Yerevan, said that Ukrainian drones could appear over the parade.
"If that happens, it will be the first time in many, many years. They cannot afford military equipment – and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling. It shows they are not strong now. So we must keep the pressure, by sanctions, on them," Zelenskyy said.
In response, a member of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kolesnik, threatened Ukraine with an "inevitable response" in case of any provocations during the parade.
Moscow is preparing for the parade under large-scale restrictions: from May 5 to 9, mobile internet and SMS have been shut down in the city, ATMs are not working, all airports are closed, and the Kremlin is closed to visitors.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the internet shutdown in Moscow.
"Although it may be difficult to access news in Moscow right now due to frequent internet outages, they can still feel they are losing every day," he wrote.
