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A man in a military uniform checks his mobile phone on a street in Moscow, Russia, on May 6, 2026.
Russia

Why Moscow is afraid this Victory Day

by Karol Luczka

On May 9, Moscow will stage its annual Victory Day parade marking the end of World War II in Europe — but this year, the spectacle is notable not for its grandeur, but for what's missing. For the first time in Vladimir Putin's Russia, no missiles, tanks, or armored vehicles are expected to appear in Saturday's Red Square parade. Although the Kremlin offered no explanation for the dramatic scale-back, recent Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory have suggested that even Putin's militar

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Russia's war comes home

Toxic rain is falling on Tuapse — just 75 miles from Vladimir Putin's summer residence in Sochi — coating cars and streets in oily grime. A once-picturesque Black Sea resort town is now choking on the fallout of a war that has come home to Russia. Four times in a span of two weeks, Ukrainian drones lit up the local oil refinery and export terminal, laying bare the weakness of Russian air defenses. Clouds of smoke so vast that they were visible from space. As long-range hits were gathering pace

About Russia

The Kyiv Independent’s coverage of news on Russia. Spanning eleven time zones across Eastern Europe and Asia, Russia has an estimated population of 146 million people. Russia’s capital city is Moscow, which is home to almost one in 10 Russians. Russia’s official currency is the Russian Ruble.

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