The German press called the Russian parade on May 9 “Potemkin” because the equipment on Red Square has nothing to do with the real Russian army.
In Ukraine and in the West it was suspected that Vladimir Putin will use his Victory Day speech to formally turn a “special operation” into an openly declared war.
But, as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes, the Russian autocrat limited himself to repeating his excuses for aggression on February 24. Talks about the need to fight “Nazism” were the main part of his speech on Victory Day. The publication reminds that last year Putin delivered a speech in the spirit of “no Nazism”. But in April in St. Petersburg, a man who took to the streets with a poster on which these words were written was arrested and convicted of “discrediting the Russian army.”
In turn, the edition of Focus quotes Eurodefense president and retired Bundeswehr colonel Ralph Thiele as saying that Putin's speech on Victory Day was an attempt to prepare Russians for losses in the war against Ukraine. According to him, the speech of the Russian autocrat was a “marketing move.” The former German military noted that Putin talked a lot about the victims of the war and how the state would take care of their families. According to Thiele, “there will be even more losses in the coming days.””Therefore, the Kremlin wants society to be morally ready for this,” the expert said, adding that it did not change anything for Ukraine.
that Putin not only equated World War II on the one hand with the occupation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine on the other. He also talked a lot about Russia's losses in the war.
“It's amazing how much time he spent in his speech on military losses. This topic has not been discussed in Russia at all so far, “the publication notes.
Meanwhile, Die Zeit draws attention to the Russian Victory Day parade itself and calls it a “Potemkin” show that has nothing to do with the real Russian army. The most modern tanks left for Red Square: T-90M and T-14 “Armata”. And none of these systems are nearly used by the Russian military. In recent days, only a few T-90Ms have been spotted on the battlefield in Ukraine. But the Armed Forces quickly destroyed them.
Read also: The Guardian: Whatever Putin decides on May 9, it will be dangerous for Russia
The publication also notes that the TOS-1A flamethrowers »Always took part in parades on Red Square. But they were not there today. Only a few old Soviet TOS-1 “Pinocchio” passed in a column. Die Zeit believes that all TOC-1As are most likely involved in the war against Ukraine.
“The Red Square show has little to do with the real state of the Russian army. Given all the reports of the appalling technical condition of Russian weapons used in Ukraine, the May 9 parade seems absurd, ”the article reads.
