At the entrances to stores and schools, on subway tickets and theater tickets, along green promenades and construction barriers, a ubiquitous message was displayed on the streets of Moscow, three days before May 9: the celebrations of the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1945. Everywhere, "victory" and "we are proud" were displayed on bus stops and even in the windows of Vkousno i totchka, the fast-food chain that replaced McDonald's three years ago.
"On Friday, we will celebrate our triumphs, the past one against Hitler in 1945, and the ongoing one against the Ukrainian Nazis," said Marina, encountered on a Moscow street. The enthusiastic mother in her 40s had pinned the orange and black Saint George ribbon – a popular symbol of military might in Russia – to her jacket and tied it to her daughter's stroller. "Symbol of our triumphs," Marina added.
As the very organized festive air takes hold of Moscow, as it does every year before May 9, the war in Ukraine has resurfaced in the daily lives of Russians. Three days before the military parade on Red Square to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the German capitulation, the capital and other Russian cities were targeted by 100 Ukrainian drones on the night of Monday to Tuesday. Moscow's air defense intercepted 19 drones, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Television showed drone debris falling on one of the major avenues in the South, a cracked supermarket window and the blackened facade of a residential building.
You have 67.09% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.