Putin vows his nukes are ‘always’ ready & snubs UK in WW2 rant at snow-blasted Victory Day parade with ONE TANK

VLADIMIR Putin has vowed Russia is “always” ready to strike and snubbed the UK in a snarling World War 2 rant at Russia’s annual Victory Day parade.

The Russian tyrant instead lavished praise on China and declared Russia was “combat ready” in these “difficult” times as nuclear missiles rumbled through Moscow’s streets.

Reuters

Vladimir Putin wrapped himself in glory as he delivered a speech that snubbed the UK[/caption]

Reuters

Victory Day parades are a moment for Russia to showcase its military might – but this year was a scaled-back affair[/caption]

Reuters

Armoured vehicles rumble through the streets before Putin delivered his speech[/caption]

Reuters

Thousands of troops listened to the Russian tyrant say ‘we are always ready for combat’[/caption]

May 9 parades are held throughout Russia as a patriotic celebration of the country’s success in defeating Nazi Germany in 1945.

It is a means for President Putin to showcase the might of the Russian military machine, recall wartime sacrifice and garner national pride – all led by a pomp-filled event in Moscow‘s Red Square overseen by Putin.

“We must never forget the lessons from World War 2… and never forget our allies,” the Russian leader, 71, declared in front of thousands of soldiers in one of his shortest Victory Day speeches yet, lasting just seven minutes.

Ignoring the role that the UK, US and other allied nations played in what Russia calls its “Great Patriotic war”, Putin seized the moment to tell his citizens Russia’s sovereignty was threatened.

As snow whipped across the vast square, the despot ranted: “Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash.

“But at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness.”

Putin accused “arrogant” Western elites of forgetting the decisive role his country played in World War 2.

The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in the war, an estimate that many historians consider conservative, scarring virtually every family.

After calling for a minute of silence, Putin ended with the words: “For Russia! For victory! Hurrah!”, providing the cue for thousands of troops to answer with three bellowing cheers.

In a blow to Putin, many regional parades were scrapped this year over what governors called “security concerns”.

Amongst all the pomp and propaganda, there was evidently less military hardware on display compared to events prior to Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Embarrassingly, there only seemed to be one tank roaring through the Red Square.

Russia has suffered huge losses of both troops and equipment on the battlefield.

A UK intelligence assessment last week suggested 450,000 Russia soldiers had been killed or wounded in Ukraine – with losses surging to 1,300 troops per day in the last two months.

It also claimed Russia had lost 3,000 main battle tanks, 10,000 armoured vehicles, 109 aircraft and 23 naval vessels in the war so far.

Russia’s Yars intercontinental ballistic missile systems being paraded over the weekend in rehearsals

There was a striking lack of tanks on display at the parade