DHAKA: Russia readied for a grandiose Red Square military parade on Saturday to mark 70 years since the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, but Western leaders were going to stay away due to the Ukraine crisis.

New tanks, mammoth nuclear missile systems and some 16,000 troops were set to sweep past the Kremlin under the gaze of President Vladimir Putin in a defiant show of strength held in front of leaders from countries including China, Cuba, Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

Huge crowds of Russians were expected to flood into central Moscow to take in the largest such parade since the collapse of the Soviet Union from 10am aimed at whipping up patriotic zeal and commemorating the country’s vast war-time sacrifices.

But the Kremlin showcase is being overshadowed by the current crisis over Ukraine, which has seen ties between Russia and the West plunge to their lowest point since the Cold War over Moscow’s seizure of Crimea and allegations Putin is fuelling a brutal separatist conflict, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1225 HRS, MAY 09, 2015
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