RUSSIA'S MILITARY MIGHT SCORES A DRAMATIC VICTORY

In the war on Ukraine, the Russians can finally celebrate a huge victory

Russian troops occupy Red Square without firing a shot

 

Vladimir Putin congratulated his troops on a 'day of great victory' as he addressed a Victory Day parade in Moscow today, twisting the truth of what is happening on the ground in Ukraine

Thousands of Russian troops formed up in the Red Square as Russia marked the day Nazi Germany surrendered in 1945, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe

Putin used his speech to re-frame the war in Ukraine as a war against Western aggression and told his troops they are fighting for the security of Russia against what he claimed were plans to invade

A Russian intercontinental ballistic missile - though to be the RS-24 Yars capable of carrying up to 10 warheads - drives through the Red Square during Victory Day celebrations

 

Russian T-72B3M tanks take part in a downsized military parade through Moscow's Red Square as part of Victory Day events in Moscow, commemorating Soviet victory over Nazi Germany

 

A T-34 tank - the main battle tank of the Soviet military during the Second World War - flies a Soviet banner as it processes through the Red Square during Victory Day events in Moscow

 

Russian armoured vehicles process through the Red Square as part of a downsized Victory Day parade, thought to have been scaled down because Russia has committed - and lost - so much of its army in Ukraine

 

Russian servicemen march on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow

 

Russian troops riding atop armoured vehicles salute towards a platform where Vladimir Putin was sitting during Victory Day commemorations in Moscow

 

Russian paratroopers, who were involved in a conflict in Ukraine, drive BTR-MDM armoured personnel carriers during a military parade on Victory Day

 Russian commanders - hundreds of whom have died in fighting in Ukraine - march through Moscow's Red Square as part of scaled-down events to mark Victory Day

Russia troops, their chests baring medals in the orange and black of Saint George's ribbon - the highest award of Imperial Russia and which has become linked to the war in Ukraine - parade through the Red Square

 

Russian servicewomen march through the Red Square as part of Victory Day celebrations taking place across the country 

 

Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister who has been rumoured dead several times since the war in Ukraine started, salutes troops as he rides through the Red Square on Victory Day

 

Russian officers, whose ranks have been dramatically thinned during fighting in Ukraine, march in the Victory Day parade

 

Members of a Russian military band march during a parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two

 

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes to his soldiers as he is driven along Red Square in the Aurus Senat car during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow

 

Russian soldiers give a soft 'ura' cheer to mark the end of Vladimir Putin's speech during the Victory Day parade in Moscow

 Russian servicemen march on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow

Russian cadets lead marchers through Red Square during parades to mark Soviet victory over the Nazis in World War Two

 

Russian navy sailors march during a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two

 

Russian VDV paratroopers - whose units have suffered some of the heaviest casualties during fighting in Ukraine - take part in a march through Moscow's Red Square

 

Sergei Shoigu - the Russian defence minister who has been rumoured dead several times since the invasion began - rides atop an open car through Moscow during Victory Day celebrations in Russia

 

Russian service members take part in a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two

 

Russian commanders march through Moscow Red Square on Monday during Victory Day commemorations in Russia, which Putin used to drum up support for his war on Ukraine

 

Members of a military band attend the Victory Day military parade on Red Square in central Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Russian Land Forces Oleg Salyukov walk after the military parade 

 

Meanwhile in the Ukraine

Many Russian soldiers and tanks were prevented from participating in the takeover of Red Square

An aerial picture shows burned Russian armoured vehicles in the outskirts of Kyiv

Ukrainian policemen check the wreckage of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC)

Ukrainian servicemen walk next to destroyed Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC) in Dmytrivka

 

Burned Russian armoured vehicles are seen on the outskirts of Kyiv

A Ukrainian soldier passes by destroyed Russian tanks in the village of Dmytrivka 

A Ukrainian policeman inspects destroyed Russian heavy vehicles after Zelenskyy's forces regained control of the village of Dmitrivka near Kyiv

Local residents in the village of Dmitrivka, near Kyiv, emerge from their homes and begin clearing away the burned remains of Russian tanks after a string of successful Ukrainian counterattacks

A local residence examines destroyed Russian tanks in the village of Dmytrivka

A Ukrainian soldier examines a destroyed Russian tank in the village of Dmytrivka close to Kyiv

A car passes a destroyed tank after Ukrainian troops retook the village of Dmitrivka near Kyiv today. The village and its surroundings have recently been recaptured by Ukrainian forces amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen inspect destroyed Russian machinery after they retook the village of Dmitrivka near Kyiv,

A Ukranian serviceman walks past the wreck of a Russian tank in the village of Lukyanivka outside Kyiv

A Ukrainian soldier poses for photos next to a destroyed Russian helicopter bearing the letter 'Z', the Russian invasion symbol, in the Mala Rohan village which has been recaptured by the Ukrainian army near Kharkiv, northeast Ukraine

           The body of a Russian soldier killed in fighting in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine

            The body of a Russian serviceman is coated in snow next to a destroyed Russian military multiple rocket launcher vehicle on the outskirts of Kharkiv

Photos of dead Russian soldiers are being shared online by Ukrainian officials

Residents carrying water walk briskly past the bodies of dead Russian soldier

Russian troops were met with huge resistance from Ukrainian forces

Bodies of Russian soldiers lie outside a school destroyed not far from the center of Ukrainian city of Kharkiv

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: All pictures and captions are from the Daily Mail except for the last four which are from the New York Post.