UK Defence Intelligence reveals how Russian losses in war impacted 9 May parade

The Defence Intelligence of the United Kingdom have analysed the impact that the losses of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine had on the 9 May parade in Moscow.

The intelligence notes that parades for Russian Victory Day on 9 May were cancelled in 24 cities, mostly in border regions with Ukraine, presumably due to low security. This is compared to 21 cancelled parades in 2023.

"Although the fly-past was reinstated, with nine SU-30SM and MiG-29 aircraft, as well as six SU-25 attack aircraft, the Moscow parade was reduced in scale with less modern military equipment on display when compared to pre-war parades," the review states.

Intelligence indicates that out of 30 units in the parade, over two-thirds were represented by military academies, youth and veteran organisations. Additionally, units of internal security and emergency services were present.

The Defence Ministry reports that 9,000 cadets, veterans and servicemen participated in the parade, compared to 8,000 in 2023, but fewer than the 11,000 in the 2021 parade before the large-scale war in Ukraine.

Analysts note that although 61 military vehicles were represented in the parade, there were no heavy armoured vehicles or tracked military vehicles.

At the same time, the only combat tank seen at the event was one ceremonial T-34 tank from the Second World War, which opened the parade as usual. This contrasts with the Moscow parade in 2020, which, according to intelligence, included 20 main battle tanks.

"With the significant losses in Russian personnel and equipment as a result of the Ukraine war there was no opportunity for Russia to use the parades to demonstrate military strength," the review states.

Earlier, UK Intelligence reported that despite a significant number of attacks, Russia did not achieve much success in the east of Ukraine in April and suffered significant losses.

UK Defence Intelligence also reported that the Long-Range Aviation Command of the Russian Aerospace Forces has installed a second warhead on Kh-101/Kh-102 air-launched cruise missiles (AS-23a KODIAK in the Western classification). The Russian army has already adopted the new version of the missile.

In a previous review, UK intelligence predicted the growth of Russian losses in the next two months.