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Russia only had one tank on display during its Victory Day parade this year.

Every year, Moscow wraps itself in patriotic pageantry for Victory Day, a celebration of its victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Today marks the 79th anniversary and Mr Putin addressed the parade in the Red Square, trying to talk up his country’s military capabilities in a speech aimed as much at the foreign audience as a domestic one.

Vladimir Putin used his Victory Day speech this year to try and warn Russia’s combat forces were “always ready” but admitted the country was going through a “difficult period”.

In the parade in Moscow, only one tank was present throughout the entire display – as the country continues to dedicate considerable firepower and resources to its war in Ukraine.

Solitary tank
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The lone tank spotted at this year’s Victory Day parade

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What is Russia’s Victory Day?

The Second World War T34 tank was the only one present – as it was last year too.

Back in the delayed 2020 parade there were reportedly over 20 tanks present, compared to just one in 2023 and one in 2024.

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Other armoured vehicles were pictured as thousands of servicemen marched along the parade.

During this year’s speech, Mr Putin admitted that Russia was going through a “difficult period” as the “future of the motherland depends on us”.

“Today on Victory Day we are conscious of that even more acutely,” he said before warning: “Our strategic forces are always combat ready.”

Vladimir Putin speaking during Victory Day Parade
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Vladimir Putin speaking during the Victory Day Parade

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

The parade marks the 79th anniversary of Russia's victory over Nazi Germany. Pic: Reuters
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The parade marks the 79th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany. Pic: Reuters

The leader of the Kremlin also said Russia’s nuclear forces were always at combat readiness, as he addressed massed ranks of Russian servicemen.

Mr Putin said on Thursday that Russia would do everything it could to avoid global confrontation, but it would not allow anyone to threaten it.

He also used the speech to send a message to the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, trying to bolster their morale as the war continues to drag on.

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Veterans take part in the Victory Day celebrations. Pic: Reuters
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Veterans take part in the Victory Day celebrations. Pic: Reuters

Russian service members march in columns just before the parade. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Russian service members march in columns just before the parade. Pic: Reuters

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He finished on: “For Russia! For victory! Hurrah!” Prompting thousands of soldiers to cheer in return.

Earlier this year, Russia began refitting old tanks after losing 3,000 while fighting in Ukraine, according to a leading research centre.

Moscow lost more than its entire pre-invasion active inventory of tanks in its war with Ukraine, but has enough lower-quality armoured vehicles in storage for years of replacements, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said.

But even after such losses, the IISS said Russia still had about twice as many available for combat as Ukraine.

Since coming to power on the last day of 1999, Mr Putin has made 9 May an important part of his political agenda, featuring displays of military might.

Pic: Reuters
Russian military vehicles, including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system units, drive along a road before a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 79th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
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Alongside the solitary tank, other military vehicles took part in the parade. Pic: Reuters

Columns of military vehicles and missiles roll across Red Square every year and squadrons of fighter jets roar overhead as medal-bedecked veterans join him to review the parade.

Many wear the black-and-orange St George’s ribbon that is traditionally associated with Victory Day.

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Netanyahu vows to retaliate against Houthis and Iran after missile attack

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Netanyahu vows to retaliate against Houthis and Iran after missile attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.

A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.

“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”

Pic: Reuters
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Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters

The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.

Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.

Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.

The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.

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Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.

Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.

Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.

Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.

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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.

Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.

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Israeli pilots’ protest letter reveals deepening rift over ongoing war in Gaza

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Israeli pilots' protest letter reveals deepening rift over ongoing war in Gaza

The Israeli Air Force is regarded as one of the country’s most elite units.

So, when hundreds of current and former pilots call for an end to the war in Gaza to get the hostages out, Israelis take notice.

This month, 1,200 pilots caused a storm by signing an open letter arguing the war served mainly “political and personal interests and not security ones”.

The pilots' protest letter
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The pilots’ protest letter

Part of the letter translated
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Part of the letter translated

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the original letter was written by “bad apples”.

But Guy Paron, a former pilot and one of those behind the letter, said the Israeli government had failed to move to phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, brokered under US President Donald Trump.

That deal called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of all the remaining hostages. Mr Netanyahu continues to argue that the war must continue to put pressure on Hamas.

Mr Paron said the (Israeli) government “gave up or violated a signed agreement with Hamas” and “threw it to the trash”.

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“You have to finish the deal, release the hostages, even if it means stopping that war,” he argued.

It’s not the first time Israeli pilots have taken up a cause. Many of them also campaigned against Mr Netanyahu’s 2023 judicial reforms.

“In this country, 1,000 Israeli Air Force pilots carry a lot of weight,” Mr Paron added.

“The Air Force historically has been the major force and game-changer in all of Israel’s wars, including this current one. The strength of the Air Force is the public’s guarantee of security.”

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UN runs out of food aid in Gaza

Anti-government campaign spreads

Now, the open letter campaign has spread to other parts of the military.

More than 15,000 people have signed, including paratroopers, armoured corps, navy, special units, cyber and medics. The list goes on.

Dr Ofer Havakuk has served 200 days during this war as a combat doctor, mostly in Gaza, and believes the government is continuing the war to stay in power.

He has also signed an open letter supporting the pilots and accused the prime minister of putting politics first.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the annual ceremony at the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers (Yom HaZikaron) at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.  (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the authors of the original letter as ‘bad apples’. Pic: AP

He said Mr Netanyahu “wants to keep his coalition working and to keep the coalition together. For him, this is the main purpose of the war”.

A ceasefire could lead to the collapse of the prime minister’s fragile far-right coalition, which is opposed to ending the war.

Threat of dismissal

The Israeli military has threatened to dismiss those who have signed protest letters.

We met a former pilot who is still an active reservist. He didn’t want to be identified and is worried he could lose his job.

“This is a price that I’m willing to pay, although it is very big for me because I’m volunteering and, as a volunteer, I want to stay on duty for as long as I can,” he told us.

The controversy over the war and the hostages is gaining momentum inside Israel’s military.

Read more:
Israel ‘starving, killing’ civilians
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Israeli minister called a ‘war criminal’

It is also exposing deep divisions in society at a time when there is no clear sign about how the government plans to end the war in Gaza, or when.

The renewed war in Gaza over the last year and a half followed deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 250 taken hostage.

More than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the Israeli military’s response, many of them civilians, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

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Drone attacks are intensifying in Sudan – hitting schools and camps homing the displaced

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Drone attacks are intensifying in Sudan - hitting schools and camps homing the displaced

The smell of explosives is still in the air when we arrive.

Hours before, a displacement camp in Atbara housing families who fled the war in Sudan’s capital Khartoum was hit by two drone strikes in a four-pronged attack.

The first bomb on 25 April burned donated tents and killed the children in them.

The second hit a school serving as a shelter for the spillover of homeless families.

Sudan

Chunks of cement and plaster had been blasted off the walls of the classrooms where they slept when the second explosive was dropped.

Blood marked the entrance of the temporary home closest to the crater.

Inside, shattered glass and broken window frames speak to the force of the explosion. We were told by their neighbours that four people in the family were instantly killed.

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“People were torn apart. This is inhumane,” says their neighbour Mahialdeen, whose brother and sister were injured. “We are praying that God lifts this catastrophe. We left Khartoum because of the fighting and found it here.”

Wiping a tear, he says: “It is chasing us.”

Sudan

The sanctuary city held by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) about 200 miles northeast of Khartoum has been hit by six drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the start of the year.

These latest strikes are the most deadly.

The drones – known for targeting civilian infrastructure – hit the displacement camp twice, the nearby power station supplying the city with electricity and an empty field with four bombs in the dark, early hours of the morning. First responders have told Sky News that 12 people were killed, including at least two children.

Sudan

RSF increasingly using drones to carry out attacks

Data from the conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED shows the RSF has carried out increasing numbers of drone attacks across the country.

The most targeted states have been Khartoum and North Darfur, where fighting on the ground has been fierce, as well as Atbara’s River Nile State.

The data suggests that the increase in strikes has been driven by a change in tactics following the SAF’s recapture of Khartoum in late March, with the number of strikes carried out by the RSF spiking shortly after their withdrawal from the capital.

Satellite imagery shows the RSF’s airpower has allowed it to continue to attack targets in and around Khartoum.

Nearby Wadi Seidna Airbase was targeted after the attack on Atbara, with damage visible across a large area south of its airfield.

We were given access to the remains of latest suicide drones launched at Khartoum and could not find discernible signs of commercial origin.

Drone experts told Sky News that they are self-built devices made from generic parts with no identifiable manufacturers for the components.

Read more:
Sky reporter returns to family home left in ruins
UK announces £120m aid package for Sudan

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Two years of war in Sudan

Drones sighted in South Darfur are consistent with Chinese models

High-resolution satellite images confirm the presence of drones at the RSF-held Nyala Airport.

While the total number of drones kept at this location is unknown, imagery from Planet Labs shows six on 24 April.

This is the highest number of drones observed at the airport, suggesting an increase in the RSF’s available airpower.

The location and number of drones visible in satellite imagery at Nyala Airport has varied over time, suggesting they are in active use.

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Yousra Elbagir visits wartorn home in Sudan

While it is not possible to determine the exact model of drones sighted at Nyala Airport, a report published by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Lab has previously found them to be consistent with the Chinese-produced FH-95.

Analysis carried out by Sky News confirms these findings, with the measurements and visible features matching those of the CH-95 and FH-95. Both designs are produced in China.

The United Arab Emirates is widely accused of supplying Chinese drones to the RSF through South Sudan and Uganda, as well as weapons through Chad. The UAE vehemently denies these claims.

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Sudanese military in presidential palace

Evidence of new airfields

Satellite imagery viewed by Sky News suggests the RSF has worked to increase its air capabilities outside of South Darfur.

In late 2024, five new airstrips appeared in West Kordofan between the contested cities of North Darfur capital Al Fashir and Khartoum.

While the purpose of these airstrips is unknown, it is clear they carry some level of military significance, having been targeted by air in April.

In high-resolution images, no aircraft can be seen. Damage is visible next to a structure that appears to be an aircraft hangar.

The rapid escalation in drone strikes is being brutally suffered on the ground.

In Atbara’s Police Hospital, we find a ward full of the injured survivors.

One of them, a three-year-old girl called Manasiq, is staring up at the ceiling in wide-eyed shock with her head wrapped in a bandage and her feet covered in dried blood.

Her aunt tells us the explosion flung her small body across the classroom shelter but she miraculously survived.

She has shrapnel in her head and clings onto her aunt as her mother is treated for her own injuries in a ward on the first floor.

Sudan

In a dark room deeper in the ward, a mother sits on the edge of a hospital bed holding her young injured daughter. Her son, only slightly older, is on a smaller adjustable bed further away.

Fadwa looks forlorn and helpless. Her children were spending the night with relatives in the temporary tents when the first strike hit and killed her eight-year-old son.

His surviving sister and brother have been asking after him, but Fadwa can’t bring herself to break the news.

“What can I say? This is our fate. We fled the war in Khartoum but can’t escape the violence,” Fadwa says, staring off in the distance.

“We are condemned to this fate.”

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