外国军队首次参与俄红场阅兵

莫斯科时间5月9日上午10点(北京时间9日下午2点)，俄罗斯在莫斯科红场举行盛大的阅兵式，庆祝卫国战争胜利65周年。这是俄罗斯近20年来参与人数最多、规模最大的红场阅兵仪式，此次阅兵式有多支外国军队参加，开创历史先河。20多个国家的领导人以及国际组织代表出席了本次阅兵仪式。本次红场阅兵仪式共有1.05万名军人参与，除了俄罗斯军队的各个兵种、军方机构代表、军事学院学生之外，还有来自美国、英国、法国、波兰等国的数个外国军队方阵加入到阅兵仪式当中。外国军队参与红场阅兵的做法在历史上属于首次。

Russia staged what were, arguably, the country's most spectacular celebrations on Sunday to mark the 65th anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were joined by leaders from more than 20 countries, including China, to watch the grand parade through Red Square that was the centerpiece of the weekend celebrations.

"I congratulate you on the day of great victory," Medvedev said in an address to the guests and thousands of servicemen assembled in the iconic square.

"This war made us a strong nation... In 1945 not only a military victory, but also a great moral victory was achieved."

The military parade in Red Square was composed of a total of 11,335 servicemen, 161 military armaments and 127 aircraft and helicopters.

Over 200 veterans from 24 foreign countries also arrived in Moscow for the occasion, with Belarus and Ukraine sending the largest delegations of veterans. US, British, Polish and French troops took part in the parade for the first time.

The parade, which was accompanied by over 50 Russian and foreign military orchestras, is divided into the military personnels' march, the parade of military armaments on the ground and in the sky.

Russia's newest ground-based missile launcher, the Topol-M, and the Pantsir-S air defense system made their debut at the Red Square.

Other weapons displayed in the parade included the Iskander-M tactical missile systems that have been deployed over the past few years.

The climax of the parade came with the air show and the cheering from crowds on the ground.

Simultaneous celebrations occurred in dozens of other Russian cities, plus Brest in Belarus and Sebastopol in Ukraine.