A large-scale and spectacular military parade was held in Kiev on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence

The largest military parade for all the years of Ukraine’s independence took place today in Kiev on the main street of the capital – Khreshchatyk. The parade was attended by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the country’s leadership and numerous guests.

Tass reports, with reference to the Ministry of Defense, that 5 thousand soldiers, 400 units of weapons and other equipment, 100 aircraft took part in the parade. A festive military parade was also held in Odessa, with warships, and on the Dnieper, with combat boats.

Pedestrian and mechanized columns marched along Khreshchatyk, air forces demonstrated their might. The celebration turned out to be unconventional – there was no usual detour of the troops and congratulations to each “box”. At the head of the parade were soldiers with a huge 30-meter flag of the state, symbolizing 30 years of its independence.

The marching of the infantry, or rather, the new combat step, was also special. It is not required to mint a step according to the new rules, and the marching leg rises 5 cm lower than the usual one – up to 10-15 cm. Thus, the Ukrainian army decided to “get rid of the Soviet past.” More than 4,000 people took part in the parade of the infantry.

Another innovation is the participation of military personnel from foreign countries. The military march marched from Great Britain, USA, Denmark, Georgia, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Moldova, Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden. The combined orchestra was attended by representatives of all branches of the military, as well as military musicians from the United States and Britain.

For the first time, women, cadets of the Military Institute of the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, and dog handlers with their pets took part in the parade. All service dogs have a solid work experience and serve in the border troops and the National Guard, specializing in the search for weapons and drugs.

A record number of vehicles took part in the parade. Military vehicles “Kozak-Cabriolet”, armored vehicles “Novator”, “Kozak-2”, command-staff vehicles K-1450-02, anti-tank complexes “Stugna-P”, multiple launch rocket systems BM-21 drove along the main street of the Ukrainian capital. “Grad”, 152-mm towed guns “Hyacinth” and “Msta-B”, 120-mm self-propelled mortars Bars-MML, “Smerchi”, anti-aircraft missile systems “Buk”, S-300PS and “Tor”.

There were also new items, the latest developments of Ukrainian manufacturers – the 360MTS “Neptun” rocket complex, the “Alder” multiple launch rocket system, and Bayraktar TB2 drones. We drove along Khreshchatyk two new tanks “Oplot” and BM “Oplot”, seven tanks of the latest modification T-64BM2. The American armored vehicles HMMWV and special vehicles based on the Toyota Land Cruiser were also presented. In order to protect the cover of the main street of Kiev, all heavy tracked vehicles were in rubber pads.

Then came the turn of military aircraft and helicopters. An-26, An-26 “VITA”, An-72, An-32, Su-27, Su-24, Su-25, MiG-29, Il-76, Mi-8, Mi flew in the sky over the Ukrainian capital -14, EC-225LP, DA-42, H-145. A special system of generating smoke during the flight has recreated the colors of the Ukrainian national flag.

Aircraft from NATO countries were presented by the British Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft, Polish F-16 fighters, Slovak UH60 Black Hawk helicopters and C-27 Spartan transport aircraft participating in the parade. The famous super-heavy transport aircraft An-225 “Mriya”, closing the air parade, became the “cherry on the cake”.

Among the many guests at the parade in Kiev were: Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Milos Vistrchil, President of the National Council of the Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation Andreas Ebi, President of the Republic of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovsky, President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda with his wife, President of Poland Andrzej Duda, Head of the Republic of Latvia Egils Levits and others.

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