Marked by grandiose speeches, a colossal parade and a show of military might on Red Square, Russia’s Victory Day on May 9, a holiday celebrating the Soviet Union’s vanquishing of Nazi Germany, has taken on particular resonance this year with Russia mired in a war in Ukraine.
The holiday will take place as Russian state television broadcasts bellicose messages about supposed Nazis in Ukraine, and as the Kremlin leads a stumbling, grinding offensive that has cost thousands of Russians and Ukrainians their lives.
Because Russia’s invasion has failed to produce much in the way of victories, some analysts fear that President Vladimir Putin will use the occasion to turn what he has called a "special military operation” into an all-out war, and to mobilize Russians for a more broad-ranging conflict. The Kremlin, for its part, denied on Wednesday that it would declare war.