Irish Examiner View: Scrapping of proud military celebrations across Russia tells a sorry tale

Ukrainian armies were among the spearheads of the attack on Berlin in 1945.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' against Ukraine has affected plans for Victory Day celebrations. Picture: Sergei Bobylev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

The celebration of victory in “the Great Patriotic War” over Nazi Germany is one of the essential dates every May in the Russian calendar, with a chance for Moscow’s war machine to strut its stuff through Red Square.

Tomorrow’s May 9 Victory Day will be different.