Putin has nothing to celebrate

Vladimir Putin has a habit these days of looking miserable. He could hardly raise a smile during his very short address in Red Square for the "celebratory" annual May 9 anniversary of the defeat of Fascism in the Second World War. Instead of the vast display of Russian military hardware that normally rolls through the square to demonstrate Russia's superpower status, the Kremlin organisers could only muster a few old bits of armour, headed by a T-34 tank from the Soviet days. Ok, it represented what the Soviets used to help defeat Nazi Germany but it was also a reminder to the rest of the world that huge numbers of more modern Russian tanks have either been destroyed in the war in Ukraine or are stuck in defensive positions in eastern Ukraine waiting for what Kyiv promises will be a major counter-offensive. The parade of Russian firepower in Red Square looked more like the remains of a long-forgotten empire. No wonder Putin lookd so glum. Of course he tried to claim that the war in Ukraine was all the West's fault but surely the majority of Russian people must now be aware that it was Putin's paranoia which led him to authorise the invasion of Ukraine. The T-34 tank may have represented times gone by, but its presence in Red Square also symbolised the state of the Russian army today. Most of the army is in Ukraine but instead of giving Putin the victory which he had hoped to celebrate in Red Square today, they have presented him with the opposite of a resounding triumph - defeat, humiliation and disaster. But I'm sure the Russian president won't see it that way which is why the war will just go on and on.