Published: May 9, 2025 3:30 pm
Author: RT
The parade on Red Square finished with Su-25 jets painting the sky above in the colors of the Russian flag
The Victory Day military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany concluded with Russian aerobatics teams and warplanes taking to the skies above Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders witnessed the Strizhy (Swifts) and the Russkie Vityazi (Russian Knights) squads flying over the Red Square in “The Diamond of Kubinka Formation.”
The signature stunt by the two renowned aerobatics teams involves five Su-30SM fighters and four MiG-29s jets traveling in a diamond-shaped formation at extreme proximity to each other.
Following that, a squad of six Su-25 jet fighters painted the sky above the Russian capital in the white, blue and red colors of the Russian flag.
Su-25s were introduced into the Soviet military in the mid-1970s and are still actively used by the Russian Aerospace Forces, including in the Ukraine conflict. Over the years, the plane, nicknamed ‘grach’ (rook), has earned itself a reputation as one of the country’s most reliable attack aircraft.
Overall, around 11,500 servicemen took part in the parade, including soldiers that have participated in the conflict with Kiev. Troops from China, Vietnam, Egypt, Mongolia, Myanmar, Belarus, Kazakhstan and several other former Soviet Republics also marched on Red Square, together with their Russian counterparts.
READ MORE: Putin speech at Victory Day parade: Key takeaways
The infantry columns were followed by a display of Russia’s state-of-the-art military hardware, including T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks, various types of armored vehicles, S-400 anti-defense systems, Tornado-S multiple rocket launchers and Yars mobile missile systems.
The new feature of this year’s parade was the participation of trucks carrying Geran, Lancet and other UAVs from the Russian military’s arsenal.
