Much less equipment participated in the parade than in previous years

In the parade on Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2023, significantly fewer units of military equipment took part than in previous years. Analyst Oliver Alexander conducted calculations based on the broadcast.

According to his data, only 51 units of equipment passed through Red Square this year. Even last year – when the parade was already shortened compared to the times before Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine – 131 combat vehicles participated in the parade. In 2021, there were 197 of them. That is, a reduction compared to the last pre-war year – almost four times.

The parade itself lasted about 45 minutes, including the detour of the troops and Vladimir Putin’s speech. In previous years, the duration of parades reached one and a half hours, but then the parade included an aerial part, which was canceled this year.

Alexander, like many other commentators, drew attention to the lack of modern tanks. The passage of equipment was opened by a T-34 tank of the Second World War, followed by light combat vehicles – “Tigers”, then “Urals” and BMP “Boomerang”, also Iskander, S-400 missile systems and three intercontinental ballistic missiles were transported along Red Square Yars rockets. The passage of military equipment at the parade took less than 10 minutes.

In previous years, the passage of equipment took significantly more time, while modern “Armata” tanks and other machines were demonstrated, which, according to commentators, have no analogues in the world. At the same time, in the hostilities in Ukraine, as noted by many commentators, this equipment either did not participate at all, or was present at the front in very limited quantities.