Ukraine war in photos: Victory Day — in Russia and beyond
Grid’s daily curation of images from the war in Ukraine, taken by some of the world’s finest photojournalists.
As Grid has reported, it is one of the most important dates on the Russian calendar — May 9, the day on which the Russians (and the Soviets before them, until 1991) mark the military victory over Nazi Germany. This year there had been much anticipation — and speculation — as to what Vladimir Putin might say and do on this edition of the holiday, with a large-scale war underway and precious few “victories” on offer for the Russian military to date.
We get at that end of the story elsewhere on the site. Here, in today’s curation of photographs, is a look at the spectacle of Victory Day in 2022.
The photos are from Red Square, where Putin honored Russian soldiers past and present, vilified NATO and the West, and — repeating his oft-stated lie — claimed the Ukraine invasion was needed to defeat “Nazis” in that country. But we also note how “Victory Day” has been marked in other capitals: in Warsaw, an attack on Russia’s Ambassador to Poland; in Riga, a photography exhibition honoring Ukrainian victims in the current war; and in Berlin, where pro- and anti-Russian protestors both gathered to mark the day. After all it was in Germany, 77 years ago, that Soviet and U.S. forces met, cementing the bitterly-fought victory over Nazism. Russian and American forces are today about as far from that comity as can be imagined.
The Red Square military parade marking Victory Day gathered 11,000 solders, officers and 131 military vehicles on Monday. (Getty Images)
People carry portraits of their relatives — World War II soldiers — as they take part in the Immortal Regiment march in central Saint Petersburg on Monday. (Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images)
People take part in the Immortal Regiment march on Red Square in central Moscow on Monday. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)
On Monday, Russia celebrates the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)
Russian officers carry Sovet and Russian flags during the Victory Day Parade at Red Square on Monday. (Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin seen on the screen speacking during the Victory Day Parade at Red Square in Moscow on Monday. (Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin (center) attends the Immortal Regiment, a rally of moscovits with portraits of their relatives — veterans of World War II — after the Victory Day Parade at Red Square in Moscow on Monday. (Getty Images)
On Monday, Pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian activists fight in Warsaw as Russian people try to lay a wreath of flowers at the monument for Soviet soldiers fallen during World War II. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images)
Visitors look at picture boards of the war photo exhibition in front of the Soviet Victory Monument in Riga, Latvia, on May 6. (Alexander Welscher/Getty Images)
Activists unfurl a Ukrainian national flag at the Soviet war memorial in Tiergarten Park to commemorate the 77th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on Sunday. (Jens Schlueter/Getty Images)
Thousands of people take part in an anti-war protest at Deutzer Werft along the Rhine River in Cologne, Germany, on Sunday. (Ying Tang/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Speaks To Danes On Danish World War II Liberation Day on May 4. (Ole Jensen/Getty Images)
Helpers lay flowers at the foot of the fenced-off Soviet Victory Monument in Riga, Latvia, on Monday. (Alexander Welscher/Getty Images)
Young women attend 'Rape Is a War Crime' protest in front of the Consulate General of Russia in Krakow, Poland, on Sunday. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
People watch a message by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a protest against Russia's war in Ukraine in front of the Soviet War Memorial at Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, Austria, on May 8, (Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images)
A woman holds a placard with the portrait of a World War II soldier during the Victory Day celebration in Kyiv on Monday. (STR/NurPhoto/Getty Images)
Tom Nagorski is the global editor at Grid, where he oversees our coverage of global security, U.S.-China relations, migration trends, global economics and U.S. foreign policy.