smaller parade than we have seen in past years. 8,000 troops. last year closer to 12,000. the number of armored vehicles was far fewer. in fact, there was only as you mentioned, only one tank that was on dips play this year. that was the second world war tank. so no modern tanks. the centerpiece, of course, remained the intercontinental ballistic missiles. one of them, at least, that was paraded through the cobbles of red square. so they re still taking pains to make sure everyone understands russia is a nuclear power. the fact there was a reduced number of military vehicles, reduced number of personnel there as well is a reflection of two things. first of all, the security concern because, you know, there s been an up surge in attacks against key russian installations the course of the last couple weeks. just last week an attack by drones according to the kremlin against the kremlin itself, just a short distance where this parade was held. great tension and concern ahead of this milit
i think 8,000 troops this year. 12,000 last year, for instance. there was no military flyover. usually that s a spectacular highlight of this kind of victory day parade. there was an intercontinental ballistic missile as the centerpiece of the parade. russia underlining it is still very much a nuclear power as it does every year by sort of parading these, you know, highly destructive weapons through the, you know, over the cobbles of red square. there was just one tank and that was a t-34 which is a tank from the 1940s that fought in the second world war. so none of the most sophisticated weaponry that russia is meant to have. there is a couple reasons for that. very real security concerns. this parade taking place just days after the kremlin and this is the in the shadow of the kremlin, remember, the kremlin says drones attacked the domes of the center of the kremlin in what they say was a ukrainian
intercontinental missiles and paraded across the cobbles of red square just like every year, it is a potent reminder of the nuclear threat that russia poses of course. but, yes, it was a much smaller presence otherwise there. is the one tank as opposed to the columns of tanks that we have seen in previous years and maybe it is for security reasons, but it is a whole loads of speculation, but it is actually because russian armor is getting such a pounding in the field that they were not able to muster enough armor to bring into red square, and this is probably an exaggeration, but the fact that they are digging in waiting for the counter offenses that we have been waiting for. and this is an indication they don t have the excess of weaponry to throw on red square at will. that is potentially quite significant, kate. also, as you are perfectly
for me to be discussing it. oh, yeah, jack and vera! recent years have seen awareness of mnd grow hugely. rob s story has been a large part of creating that wider understanding. in fact, along with doddie weir, they inspired the writers decision to tackle the issue. and with corrie now taking the story to its five million viewers, it too is joining the fight. banging the drum, raising awareness and searching for a cure to bring about mnd s final episode. it s been quite surreal. i m a massive coronation street fan and grew up watching it with my mum and dad at home. so to be here actually on the cobbles is, you know, it s quite surreal and obviously meeting in the characters. yeah, it sjust been, just been a quite a surreal experience. but really we had a brilliant time, haven t we, rob? it s been great to have a chat to them and to see this. we ll be watching the story glued to the telly to watch how the storyline progresses.