Russia shows off hypersonic nuclear-capable ‘Dagger’ missile in Red Square military parade

Russia rolled out its latest military hardware on Moscow’s Red Square on Wednesday for the annual parade to mark Soviet victory over Nazi Germany as President Vladimir Putin begins his fourth Kremlin term.

“Our people fought to the death. Not one country faced such an invasion,” Putin said in a speech as veterans and some 13,000 troops marched past in a perfectly choreographed military spectacle marking 73 years since victory in the second world war.

Much of the new military equipment, the defence ministry said. Altogether the parade featured 159 types of hardware including 75 aircraft.

For the first time, the parade included drones, which were wheeled across the square on trailers, as well as a de-mining robot used by the military in Syria’s Palmyra and Aleppo and an unmanned tank. There was even a snowmobile to be used by Arctic units.