Rain on Russia's Parade: For losses in Ukraine, celebration of 'Great Patriotic War' to stay low key, say UK sources

Crimea: The authorities in Russia-occupied Crimea have reportedly postponed celebratory military festivities that were scheduled for next month due to the Kremlin’s sensitivities regarding significant Russian troop losses in Ukraine, British defense sources have revealed.

Celebrations were to be held on May 9, in all Russian towns to commemorate the Soviet Union’s contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II, also known as “Great Patriotic War”.

The largest event is held in Moscow, where Russian military equipment is on display and troops conduct a march-past around Red Square.

However, for security reasons, officials in Russian districts close to the Ukrainian border, like Kursk and Belgorod, have cancelled their activities this year.

Unidentified bombs have struck military facilities in the Russian oblasts bordering Ukraine ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale assault began.

Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea resulted in the suspension of celebratory military activities there as well.

Sergey Aksyonov, the leader of Crimea who was installed by Russia, said on Telegram that there will be no parades in Crimea or Sevastopol on May 1 or May 9 “for security reasons,” while local officials will congratulate veterans.

British defence sources, however, claimed that the parades posed “a sensitive communications challenge for the Kremlin” and that the Kremlin’s worries over the public’s perception of the high number of Russian casualties in Ukraine were also factors in the decision.

The U.K. Ministry of Defence stated that “Putin couches the ‘special military operation’ in the spirit of the Soviet experience in World War Two.”

The many Russians who have firsthand knowledge of the poorly run and unsuccessful effort in Ukraine “risk feeling increasingly uneasy” about this.

The report on Thursday, which focuses on Russian losses and Ukrainian gains, warned that “honoring the fallen of previous generations could easily blur into exposing the scope of the recent losses, which the Kremlin attempts to cover up.”

Attacks on Crimean locations by the Ukrainian military have hounded the Russian Black Sea fleet and cut off crucial Russian supply routes.

Thousands of Russians are reportedly leaving Crimea due to fears that it could be the focus of an anticipated springtime counteroffensive by Ukraine, according to Tamila Tasheva, the chief representative for Crimea under Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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