Russian President Vladimir Putin walks past a guard during a ceremony honouring the country's Olympians and Paralympians at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on April 26, 2022. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Yunarmiya (Young Army) cadets rehearse their march in formation for the upcoming Victory Day parade set to mark the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II in St Petersburg, Russia on April 26, 2022. (Photo by Alexander Demianchuk/TASS)





A view of the business tower Lakhta Centre, the headquarters of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, with a private house in the foreground. Polish and Bulgarian leaders have accused Russia of using gas supplies to blackmail their countries. The accusations come after the Russian energy Giant abruptly told them on Tuesday that it would cut off gas to the two European nations on Wednesday for refusing to pay for their supplies in rubles. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Russian self-propelled artillery vehicles, tanks and military vehicles roll along Tverskaya street toward Red Square during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 28, 2022. The parade will take place at Moscow's Red Square on May 9 to celebrate 76 years of the victory in WWII. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





Russian servicemen arrive at a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia on April 28, 2022. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Russian service members drive armoured vehicles along the street before a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia on April 28, 2022. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Russian military cadets take part in a rehearsal for the Victory Day parade in St. Petersburg, Russia, 28 April 2022. The military parade marking the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the World War II will take place on the Dvortsovaya Square on 09 May 2022. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/EPA/EFE)





Bikers wearing Pink Rabbit suits ride during a festival marking the beginning of the motor biking season in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, April 30, 2022. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)





Women wearing historical costumes walk past a tank before a rehearsal for the Victory Day parade, which marks the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Saint Petersburg, Russia on April 28, 2022. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)





A man walks past the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow on April 29, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of “crude and cynical provocations” while Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Ukraine had either carried out the executions of civilians itself or positioned the bodies. She accused Western media of “complicity in this punitive action to kill civilians in Bucha”. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)





Children sit in a fire truck with letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, stuck on a window, during a city holiday in the city of Olonets, 300 km (186 miles) north-east of St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





A police officer stands guard as participants march during a May Day rally in Omsk, Russia on May 1, 2022. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)





Face masks depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, left, and and jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right, among others are displayed for sale at a street souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





A T-shirt with the letter Z, which has become a symbol of the Russian military, is displayed for sale at a street souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





A supporter of Russia's Communist party holds a flag during a May Day rally in Moscow, Russia on May 1, 2022. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)





Vladimir Kapitonov, 98, a WWII veteran and former military pilot gestures while speaking to a group of foreign journalists in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, in territory under Russian military control, southeastern Ukraine, Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)





Police officers stand guard while Muslims attend the Eid al-Fitr morning prayer outside Central Sobornaya Mosque in Moscow, Russia, 02 May 2022. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the three days festival marking the end of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is one of the two major holidays in the Islamic calendar. (Photo by Maxim Shipenkov/EPA/EFE)





Soviet T-34 tanks are transported along Tverskaya street toward Red Square to attend a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. The parade will take place at Moscow's Red Square on May 9 to celebrate 77 years of the victory in WWII. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)





Russian MiG-29smt jets fighter fly over downtown Moscow during a rehearsal for the WWII Victory Parade on May 4, 2022. Russia will celebrate the 77th anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)





A Russian T-14 Armata tank rolls along Tverskaya street toward Red Square to attend a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)