Russian soldiers rehearse ahead of a forthcoming parade on Red Square in Moscow on November 5, 2017 The event will take place on November 7, marking the 76 th anniversary of a 1941 parade, when Red Army soldiers marched past the Kremlin walls towards the front line to fight Nazi Germany troops during World War Two. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Nikolai Vasilyev, 64, dressed as Father Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, water-skis along the Yenisei River outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia December 19, 2017. Vasilyev, former teacher of the Siberian State Aerospace University, constructed the water skis out of plastic foam and designed the sticks to propel him forward, while travelling on the water surface. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Fireworks explode over the Kremlin in Red Square which was blocked by police during New Year celebrations in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, January 1, 2017. New Year's Eve is Russia's major gift-giving holiday, and big Russian cities were awash in festive lights and decorations. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr./AP Photo)

Nikolai Vasilyev, 62, dressed as Father Frost, Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, water-skis along the Yenisei River outside Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, December 10, 2015. Vasilyev, a teacher of the Krasnoyarsk Aerospace Academy, constructed the self-made water skis to travel on the water surface. The skis are made of plastic foam and the sticks are designed to propel him forward. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Local resident Rita holds a cat while her neighbour Raisa saws firewood next to their residential building heavily damaged by permanent Russian military strikes in the front line town of Avdiivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on November 8, 2023. (Photo by Serhii Nuzhnenko/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Reuters)

A Ukrainian soldier smiles in front of a city sign reading ''I Love Izium'' in Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 14, 2022. Ukrainian troops piled pressure on retreating Russian forces pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of the counteroffensive that has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow's military prestige. (Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/AP Photo)

Base jumper Denis Odintsov from Russian leaps from the 300-meters Open Deck of the Malaysia's landmark Kuala Lumpur Tower during the International Tower Jump in Kuala Lumpur on September 27, 2013. Some 103 professional base jumpers from 20 countries are taking part in the annual event. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

A demonstrator holds up a picture depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin with make-up, during a protest by the gay community in Amsterdam April 8, 2013. Russia does not discriminate against homosexuals, Putin told reporters in Amsterdam on Monday where he was greeted by gay rights and other activists critical of Russia's track record. Putin is on one-day visit in the Netherlands for the start of the Netherlands-Russia Year. (Photo by Cris Toala Olivares/Reuters)