Ukraine mocked Russia's 'Victory Day' by holding a 'parade' of captured Russian tanks

• Ukraine's military mocked Russia's "Victory Day" by holding what it said was a "parade" of "trophy" tanks.
• The Ukrainian Defense Ministry tweeted that its forces were "ruining the holiday for the occupiers."

Ukraine's government mocked Russia's celebration of "Victory Day" by holding what it said was a "parade" of tanks that Ukrainian forces captured from Russian troops amid Moscow's war with the eastern European country.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a tweet on Wednesday that the Ukrainian military's 93rd Mechanized Brigade "held a parade of trophy Russian tanks, ruining the holiday for the occupiers," in reference to Victory Day.

"Maybe aggressors think that by arming #UAarmy with Russian trophy equipment, it will affect the turn of NATO-style armament? New clever plan," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry taunted in the tweet.

—Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 9, 2022

Russia's annual Victory Day, held on May 9, commemorates the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Every year, Russia marks the occasion with a grand military parade in Moscow's Red Square.

This year, Russian President Vladimir Putin's Victory Day speech passed without a single direct mention of Ukraine or a declaration of all-out war, despite Western officials' warnings that Putin may escalate the conflict around the holiday.

In his speech, Putin ripped NATO expansion, accused the US of aggression, and called Ukraine and its leaders Nazis — claims he previously used to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When Putin announced his invasion of Ukraine, he said he was seeking the "denazification" of Ukraine, a country whose democratically elected leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish.

"The West was preparing for the invasion of Russia. NATO was creating tensions at the borders. They did not want to listen to Russia. They had other plans," Putin said in his Victory Day speech. "You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of World War II, so that there is no place in the world for executioners, punishers, and Nazis."

Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and the war has since left thousands dead on both sides, including many Ukrainian civilians.

In recent weeks, Russia has focused its attacks in Ukraine on the eastern Donbas region after Russian troops failed to take the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.