Watch: Putin’s Victory Day concludes with fireworks in Moscow amid Ukraine war

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Watch as Russia’s annual Victory Day concluded with fireworks in Moscow on Thursday, 9 May.

Vladimir Putin marked the celebrations with a lone tank for the second year in a row as the war in Ukraine continues.

The Russian leader has turned the day which was a celebration of Russia’s defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War into a pillar of his nearly quarter-century in power and a justification of his move into Ukraine.

The single tank on display on Thursday was quite different from the celebrations that took place before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine; before the war began, the parade would involve more than 20 tanks on display as a celebration of the country’s military might.

After Russia’s invasion, the parade has been thought to be a tactic designed to boost war morale and send a message to both domestic and foreign audiences despite no Western leaders attending the celebrations.

In his speech on Thursday, Putin admitted that it was a “difficult period” for the country as the “future of the motherland depends on us”.