|
Russia parades tanks and missiles
|
| Print |
|
E-mail
|
|
Global
|
|
By Agencies
|
|
![Medvedev, Russia's president, says the country's weapons are for 'defence' of the homeland [AFP]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Russia/1/2/3/4/Medvedev-p.jpg "Medvedev, Russia's president, says the country's weapons are for 'defence' of the homeland [AFP]") | | Medvedev, Russia's president, says the country's weapons are for 'defence' of the homeland [AFP] |
Russia's has paraded heavy weaponry including missiles and tanks in its annual Victory Day celebrations for the first time since the break-up of the Soviet Union.
About 8,000 soldiers and aircraft also took part in the parade on Friday which follow the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as Russia's president two days earlier.
It was the first time the parade has featured military hardware in Red Square since 1990, the year before the Soviet Union's collapse.
Medvedev, in a speech opening the parade, warned against igniting conflicts and said its weaponry was for "the reliable defence of the homeland".
"I congratulate you from my very heart with the day of the great victory, with a celebration which always was and will remain the most national and sacred and which has become for ever a symbol of our national unity," he said.
Medvedev also criticised "intentions to intrude in the affairs of other states and especially redraw borders" In an apparent attack on US foreign policy and Western backing for the independence of Kosovo. The May parade comemorates the 27 million Soviets who were killed in World War II, known in Russia, which has nearly quadrupled its defence spending in recent years, as the Great Patriotic War.
'Military clout'
Vladimir Putin, the former president who was confirmed in the prime minister's post on Thursday and retains major influence, stood alongside Medvedev for the parade.
Putin earlier said the parade was not "sabre-rattling" but "a demonstration of our growing defence capability."
In recent days tensions between Russia and its US-backed neighbour Georgia have reached new heights amid differences over the Moscow-backed separatist territory of Abkhazia.
Recommend this article...
Tags: Dmitry Medvedev Russia parades
|
