Putin mocked over his 'one-tank' Victory Day military parade 

President Vladimir Putin was mocked after Russia’s Victory Day military parade on Tuesday seemed to signal the country’s depleted military resources due to the war in Ukraine. 

Victory Day, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during World War II, is one of the most important days in Russia’s calendar. Every year on May 9, the Russian government shows off its military force with a parade that passes through the Red Square in Moscow. Several other cities in Russia also hold events to celebrate the occasion.

However, this year there were a few things that were noticeably different: the scale of the parade seemed to have shrunk and at least 20 other cities canceled their commemorations completely. 

In Moscow, the parade, which usually has tens of thousands of soldiers marching, had fewer troops. Military hardware was also less than what the parade has displayed in previous years. In particular, many were shocked that there was only one Stalin-era tank on display. 

During Moscow’s Victory Day Parade, only one tank rolled across Red Square 🇷🇺.

I think it is safe to assume that Ukrainian farmers 🇺🇦 now have a larger reserve of Russian tanks. pic.twitter.com/EcvCX1GcFL

— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) May 9, 2023

“For the past two decades, Vladimir Putin has used Victory Day to showcase modern Russia’s resurgence as a military superpower, with dozens of the very latest tanks typically taking part in each annual parade. This year, however, the only tank on display was a T-34 model dating back to World War II,” said Peter Dickinson, editor of the UkraineAlert blog at the Atlantic Council. 

Russia has claimed that the event was scaled back considerably over security concerns given the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin last week. However, military experts believe the lone tank and fewer troops seem to indicate that Russia has suffered immense losses in the 15 months since it invaded Ukraine. 

“Modern Russian military equipment can be found much more easily at Ukrainian military trophies exhibitions than at the Victory Parade in Moscow,” wrote Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on Twitter.