Russia Marks 69th Victory Day, Slaps Sanctions on US, Canada

Local Editor

Thousands of Russian troops on Friday marched in Red Square to mark 69 years since victory in World War II in a show of military might amid tensions in Ukraine following Moscow's annexation of Crimea.

More than 11,000 servicemen took part in the annual Victory Day parade which began with the massed troops marching to the sound of brass bands as President Vladimir Putin watched from the stands, flanked by veterans.

Putin praised the strength of Russia's "all-conquering" patriotism in his speech to the veterans and troops.
"This is a holiday when all-conquering patriotic force triumphs, when we all feel especially strongly what it means to be true to the Motherland and how important it is to be able to stand up for its interests," Putin said to shouts of "Hurrah!"

The parade took on particular significance as Russia is locked in a standoff with the West over its support for separatists in Ukraine and following its annexation of Crimea where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol.
Putin was reportedly to fly directly from Moscow to take part in celebrations in Sevastopol, liberated from the Nazis 70 years ago, although this was not confirmed by the Kremlin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be a "pity" if Putin were to "use" the commemorations to make his first visit to Crimea since annexation.
The parade began with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu standing up in a specially designed car to inspect the massed troops, including marines from the Black Sea fleet based in Crimea, followed by a display of military hardware.

The Moscow parade put on view around 150 items of military hardware including for the first time new Tor-M2U air defense missile system, the powerful Chrysanthemum-S anti-tank missile system and Typhoon armored vehicles.
A total of 69 aircraft were to zoom 200 meters above Moscow rooftops including Tupolev TU-160 bomber jets.

This comes as Moscow has retaliated against sanctions imposed by the United States and Canada last month by expanding its lists of American and Canadian officials barred from Russia, but will not name those affected, the Foreign Ministry said.
"Sanctions are not our method in general, but unfriendly actions force us to respond. The most recent sanctions [imposed by] Washington and Ottawa are no exception," ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.
On April 28, the United States slapped visa bans and asset freezes on seven Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin and imposed sanctions on 17 companies, saying Moscow had failed to abide by an agreement to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.

The United States had imposed sanctions on 31 individuals and a Russian bank in March, and Canada has also announced successive rounds of sanctions over Russia's annexation of the Crimea region and its role in the Ukraine crisis.
Russia answered the first round of US sanctions with a tit-for-tat response, barring 11 US officials and lawmakers including Senator John McCain and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.

But Lukashevich said Moscow was not seeking to mirror the US and Canadian sanctions in terms of the number of people affected, and would not reveal the new names on the lists.
"Unlike the Americans and Canadians, we have not put on a show," he said, adding that those who are barred from Russia "will find out when they apply for a visa".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team