Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday promised “victory” in the “war” in Ukraine which he considers orchestrated by the West, drawing a parallel with the Second World War by celebrating 78 years of the Nazi defeat.
But, on this highly symbolic day, the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, threw a stone into the pond with a long diatribe denouncing the inability of the Russian authorities to defeat Ukraine, even accusing the military hierarchy of wanting “deceive” the Russian president.
More than a year after having launched his army to attack his neighbor whom he accuses of Nazism and after a series of bitter failures, Mr. Putin considered that the world was “at a turning point”.
“A war has been launched against our homeland,” accused the Russian president from Red Square, in front of thousands of soldiers, the political elite and a handful of leaders from countries of the former USSR.
“The future of our state, of our people depends on you,” said the master of the Kremlin, addressing the soldiers engaged in Ukraine.
“For Russia, for our valiant armed forces, for victory, hooray! “, he concluded, before a parade of thousands of men began under a spring sun.
More modest parade
The annual ceremony is meant to exalt Russian power, with the 1945 victory central to the identity and nationalism embodied by Mr Putin.
But this year, the commemorations come as the army is bogged down in its military campaign, after suffering heavy losses, while a Ukrainian counter-offensive is preparing.
As an illustration of this reality, the parade in Moscow was much more modest than in previous years: no aerial parade and no tanks, except for a Soviet T-34 dating from the Second World War.
Nevertheless, in the streets, the Russians questioned by AFP take up the official line.
“We are in the same situation as our grandfathers and grandmothers, we are forced to defend ourselves against a resurrected neo-Nazism,” said Galina Loginova, a retiree in Ekaterinburg, in the Urals.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised Russia defeat, “the same” as for the Nazis. Breaking for good with the Soviet tradition of May 9, on Tuesday he welcomed the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen for Europe Day.
“Our efforts for a united Europe, for security and peace must be as strong as Russia’s desire to destroy our security, our freedom and our Europe”, he proclaimed on Tuesday, alongside the European leader .
Mr. Zelensky also urged the EU to speed up deliveries of artillery ammunition, “the key issue”.
Mrs von der Leyen judged that Kyiv was “today the beating heart of European values”.
On the ground, after 15 months of offensive, the Russian army appears weakened by the losses and the tensions between the staff and the paramilitaries of Wagner. She remains entangled in her fight for the city of Bakhmout, the epicenter of fighting in the east for months.
Wagner’s chief chose the highly symbolic date of May 9 to accuse the military hierarchy of “intrigues” and of not having kept their promise to deliver ammunition, and to flee the battlefield in Bakhmout.
Fool Putin?
“Why can’t the state manage to defend the country? “, he launched.
“If everything is done to deceive the Commander-in-Chief (Vladimir Putin), then either the Commander-in-Chief will rip your c… or it will be the Russian people who will be furious if the war is lost,” he said. insisted in his usual flowery language.
The commemorations of May 9 are also taking place under reinforced protection, after the multiplication of attacks on Russian territory attributed to kyiv by Moscow.
The most spectacular attack, though it raised many questions and kyiv denied responsibility, was an alleged strike by two drones on the Kremlin last week.
There were also strikes against energy installations, sabotage of railways and multiple attempts or assassinations of personalities.
Parades canceled
As a result, parades and demonstrations planned in several cities have been canceled, particularly in the border regions of Ukraine, the authorities advancing a “terrorist” risk.
The master of the Kremlin has little good news from the front. His troops, who have been fighting since the summer for Bakhmout, of disputed strategic importance and largely destroyed, have still not conquered it in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.
Russian forces now control most of it, but this advance has been slow and at the cost of heavy casualties.
At the same time, Moscow is continuing its bombing of Ukraine. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down 23 Russian cruise missiles out of 25 missiles launched overnight over the country.
The Kiev military administration said it shot down about 15 “enemy air targets” around the capital, without reporting any casualties or significant damage.