World War Two veteran, anti-aircraft gunner Valentina Goryacheva, 99, is congratulated by members of a local veterans council upon the upcoming Victory Day in Moscow, on May 2, 2023. Cheerful Moscow veterans dance, share toasts with comrades and sing patriotic songs at events leading up to Victory Day. On May 9, Russia will celebrate the 78th anniversary of the Soviet victory against the Nazis in 1945. The last heroes on the Great Patriotic War remain strong and optimistic, proudly looking back at their lives and personal feats. (Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP Photo)





Military cadets demonstrate their skills during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 78 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





A Soviet era T-34 tank is transported toward Red Square to attend a dress rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. The parade will take place at Moscow's Red Square on May 9 to celebrate 78 years of the victory in WWII. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





A commander instructs his soldiers prior to a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 78 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





People steer their stand-up paddle boards along Moyka River past military vehicles prepared for a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 78 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Iskanders, a mobile short-range ballistic missile system launchers roll during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 78 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Military cadets demonstrate their skills during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9 to celebrate 78 years after the victory in World War II in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Russian RS-24 Yars ballistic missiles roll toward Red Square to attend a dress rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





In this handout photo released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Monday, May 8, 2023, Russian Emergency Ministry employees work at the site of a fire in Kurgan region, Russia. Wildfires have raged in Russia's Ural mountains and in Siberia this week, with authorities promising to swiftly contain them. Blazes engulfed thousands of hectares in Sverdlovsk and Kurgan, as well as Tyumen and Omsk regions. (Photo by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP Photo)





Russian soldiers march toward Red Square to attend a Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II. (Phoot by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





Russian RS-24 Yars ballistic missiles drive along the embankment next to the Kremlin wall after the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





Russian cossacks arrive to participate in the Victory Day military parade, to be held at Red Square, in central Moscow on May 9, 2023. Russia celebrates the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)





Russian servicemen march in downtown of Moscow, Russia, 09 May 2023, preparing for the military parade which will take place on the Red Square to commemorate the victory of the Soviet Union's Red Army over Nazi-Germany in WWII. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA)





Russian servicemen march during a Victory Day military parade on Red Square in Moscow, Russia, 09 May 2023. Russia marks the 78th anniversary of the victory in World War II over Nazi Germany and its allies. The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in the war. (Photo by EPA/EFE/Stringer)





Russian service members march in columns before a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Commuters ride in a metro coach as a screen shows a live broadcast of the Victory Day military parade from Red Square, in Moscow on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)





People attend Victory Day celebrations in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol on May 9, 2023. Russia celebrates the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)





People take part in the celebrations of Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Vladivostok, Russia on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Tatiana Meel/Reuters)





Participants get prepared before a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters)





A spectator holds a photo of a Russian service member before a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Rostov-on-Don, Russia on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters)