The 2022 parade begins with foot pillars marching along Red Square from the History Museum toward Vasilyevsky Spusk. The lead unit will be a company of drummers, followed by the Victory Banner, the Russian State Flag, and the Banner of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. They will be trailed by three honor guard groups wearing the uniforms of Russia’s three military branches – the Land Forces, the Aerospace Forces and the Navy.
Next come columns representing 35 formations and military academies from both the Ministry of Defense and the FSB, along with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Russian Guard. Among these columns will be the Yunarmiya parade team, the Suvorov and Nakhimov cadets, and the cadet corps, including two female soldier columns, two Cossack columns, the 2nd Guards Taman Motor Rifle Division, the 4th Tank Division, and one column each from the brigades of the 27th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Division.
After the march, military equipment advances onto Red Square. The parade is opened by the famed Soviet tank T-34-85, a symbol of victory in the Great Patriotic War. It is followed by Typhoon armored vehicles, various T-72B3M and T-90M variants, and the T-14 Armata. Additional assets include the Tornado-G MLRS, Iskander-M missile systems, and Msta-S self-propelled guns.
Two air defense columns will feature Buk-M3, Tor-M2 and S-400 systems. Amphibious and airborne support appears through BMD 4M and BTR-MDM vehicles. Uran-9 robotic tanks on Ural trucks and the Yars strategic missiles follow, with the Boomerang armored personnel carriers completing the ground segment of the display.
The aerial segment starts, weather permitting, with the world’s largest Mi-26 helicopter, escorted by Mi-24s. Gunship formations with Ka-52, Mi-28n and Mi-8 helicopters join the flight later.
Next, aircraft will ascend into the sky. The Il-76MD transport will lead, followed by the Il-78 tanker and two MiG-29 fighters. The Il-80 will then appear to provide cover for the MiGs.
Missile carriers will follow, including the Tu-95MS, with four accompanying Su-35s, as well as Tu-22 and Tu-160 bombers, plus another Il-78 tanker and four MiG-31BM interceptors at altitude.
Three successive formations of Su-24, MiG-31 and Su-57 aircraft will glide over Red Square. A distinctive feature of the airborne segment will be eight MiG-29smt arranged to form the letter Z in the sky.
An unusual aspect of this parade is the absence of column 13. A deputy director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, Alexander Khramchikhin, suggests this is tied to superstition given the ongoing military operation in Ukraine. He emphasizes there could be no other clear explanation for the omission. [Insight attributed to Khramchikhin, Institute of Political and Military Analysis]
He also notes that the equipment mix is deliberate and reflects the non-anniversary nature of the event. The overall impression is that a grand parade during current circumstances would be unusual, and the sentiment abroad is not the focus of the display. [Commentary attributed to Khramchikhin]
Experts also state that the absence of foreign leaders will not undermine the parade’s purpose: to present a snapshot of the state of the Armed Forces, rather than to impress international observers. [Analysis attributed to official military analysts]
Alexei Leonkov, editor of the Motherland magazine Arsenal, argues that the parade serves to show both equipment already in service and newer systems that have recently entered service.
Leonkov points to equipment used in ongoing operations and, at the same time, highlights that the historical T-34 tank alongside the modern Armata and Boomerang demonstrates continuity in military hardware.
Valery Volkov, a military political scientist, believes the parade also aims to emphasize the link between the victory of May 9, 1945 and today’s events in Ukraine. He notes that Kyiv rejects the holiday, while Moscow seeks to assert its status as the heir to Soviet triumphs. The leadership stresses that the victory is of global significance, not only national value. This emphasis will likely be reiterated in official remarks. [Volkov’s analysis cited]