VLADIMIR Putin has vowed Russia is "always" ready to strike the West and snubbed Britain in a snarling World War 2 rant at Russia's annual Victory Day parade.
The Russian tyrant instead lavished praise on China and declared Russia was "combat ready" in these "difficult" times as nuclear missiles rumbled through Moscow's streets.
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May 9 parades are held throughout Russia as a celebration of its defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 that Putin has turned into a pillar of his nearly quarter-century in power and a justification of his invasion of Ukraine.
Victory Day is a means to showcase to the world the might of the Russian military machine, recall wartime sacrifice and garner national pride - all led by a showcase event in Moscow's Red Square.
However, today was a much pared-down parade indicating the strains of war.
For the second year in a row, it featured just one measly tank - reportedly an 80-year-old T-34.
"We must never forget the lessons from World War 2... and never forget our allies," the Russian leader, 71, declared in front of thousands of soldiers in one of his shortest Victory Day speeches yet, lasting just seven minutes.
Ignoring the role that the UK, US and other allied nations played in what Russia calls its "Great Patriotic war", Putin seized the moment to tell his citizens Russia's sovereignty was threatened.
Putin heaped praise on the "heroes" fighting in Ukraine and accused "Western elites" of fomenting conflicts around the world.
Amid Russia-West tensions soaring to the highest level since the Cold War times, Putin also issued another stark reminder about Russia's nuclear might.
Snow whipped across the vast square as the despot ranted: "Russia will do everything to prevent global confrontation, but will not allow anyone to threaten us.
"Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness."
Putin parades Yars nuclear missile launchers, tanks & gun-touting soldiers ahead of annual Victory Day celebrations
Putin also had his nuclear briefcase on show in Red Square as he issued a chilling warning of a new global war.
Plain-clothed aides carried the nuclear briefcase or ‘football’ - which could be used to start World War Three - as well as protection shields to use in the event of an assassination attempt against the dictator.
Three of his hulking Yars atomic missile launchers also thundered over the cobbles in a show of force to the West.
The military parade broadcast on smart TVs was also reportedly targeted by anti-war hackers at least 20 seconds.
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Footage suddenly appeared across Russia showing the reality of the war in Ukraine - fields of dead troops, wrecked equipment and scores of helmets of fallen soldiers.
It also lined up images of Moscow's troops in a 'Z' formation next to German World War 2 soldiers forming a Nazi swastika.
It is not yet clear who was behind the hack.
Meanwhile, columns of missiles and armoured vehicles rolled across Red Square and squadrons of fighter jets roared overhead as medal-bedecked veterans joined Putin to review the parade.
About 9,000 troops, including some 1,000 who fought in Ukraine, took part in today's event.
After calling for a minute of silence, Putin ended with the words: "For Russia! For victory! Hurrah!", providing the cue for thousands of troops to answer with three bellowing cheers.
Amongst all the pomp and propaganda, there was an obvious lack of military hardware on display compared to events prior to Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
In a blow to Putin, many regional parades were even scrapped this year over what governors called "security concerns".
Russia has suffered huge losses of both troops and equipment on the battlefield.
A UK intelligence assessment last week suggested 450,000 Russian soldiers had been killed or wounded in Ukraine - with losses surging to 1,300 troops per day in the last two months.
It also claimed Russia had lost 3,000 main battle tanks, 10,000 armoured vehicles, 109 aircraft and 23 naval vessels in the war so far.
UK, US & Russia's alliance in WW2
IN World War 2, the three great Allied powers - the UK, US and Soviet Union formed an alliance that was key to securing victory of Nazi Germany.
On New Year's Day in 1942, all three nations signed the United Nations Declaration to join together to fight the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan).
The 'Big Three' gathered together in Yalta in February 1945 as they were closing in on Germany from both the east and west with very different goals.
Soviet forces pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the German Reichstag in 1945.
The alliance ended after the Nazi's unconditional surrender came into force at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945.
The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in the war, an estimate that many historians consider conservative, scarring virtually every family.
In his ranting speech today, Putin said: "In the West, they would like to forget the lessons of the Second World War," adding that Russia honoured all the allies involved in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
However he failed to mention these allies by name, instead praising the Chinese people's fight against Japanese imperialism.
Putin added: "But we remember that the fate of mankind was decided in the grand battles near Moscow and Leningrad, Rzhev, Stalingrad, Kursk and Kharkiv, near Minsk, Smolensk and Kyiv, in heavy, bloody battles from Murmansk to the Caucasus and Crimea."
Since coming to power on the last day of 1999, Putin has made May 9 an important part of his political agenda.
Those demonstrations were suspended during the pandemic and then again amid security concerns after the start of the fighting in Ukraine.
When he sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Putin evoked World War 2 in seeking to justify his actions that Kyiv and its Western allies denounced as an unprovoked war of aggression.
Putin cited the denazification of Ukraine as a main goal of Moscow, falsely describing the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust, as neo-Nazis.
Many observers see Putin's focus on World War 2 as part of his efforts to revive Soviet clout and prestige.
In today's speech, he accused the West of “attempts to distort the truth about World War 2."
“It hinders those who are used to basing their essentially colonial policies on hypocrisy and lies," he fumed.
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What is Russia's Victory Day?
ON May 9, Russia celebrates Victory Day. But what is it?
This year marks the 79th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War 2.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in what Russians call the "Great Patriotic War" - more than any other country.
Victory Day is one of Russia's most important public holidays.
For Putin, it is an opportunity to project to his people an image of Russia as a powerful nation of winners, standing on the right side of history in defeating fascism.
Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender came into force at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945, marked as "Victory in Europe Day" by France, Britain and the United States.
In Moscow it was already May 9, which became the Soviet Union's "Victory Day".
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin decreed a holiday, and the first victory parade on Red Square, featuring captured German insignia, was held on June 24, 1945.
Under Putin, Victory Day increasingly became a muscular display not only of marching battalions but also of Russia's latest weaponry, including warplanes, tanks, and nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles.
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