Over 13,000 SMF Troops to March in Victory Day Parades Across Russia

Over 13,000 Russian troops will march as part of Strategic Missile Forces columns in Victory Day parades across the country.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Over 13,000 Russian troops will march as part of Strategic Missile Forces columns across the country to mark the 71st anniversary of Victory Day in World War II, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday.

"Multi-axial training trucks MAZ-7917 and MZKT-79221, BTR-80 and Tiger and Typhoon combat vehicles will ride as part of mechanized parade columns in the cities of Vladimir, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Yoshkar-Ola, Barnaul, Omsk, Kirov, and Nizhny Tagil," the ministry said.

More than 250 pieces of military hardware and over 13,000 troops are expected to join the Strategic Missile Forces in the parades, it adds.

Three mobile and silo-based RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems launchers from the 54th Guards Rocket Division in Teykovo, Ivanovo Region, are expected at the Red Square parade in Moscow.

A solemn ceremony marking the lighting of an eternal flame is expected at the fallen soldiers’ memorial at the 28th Guards Rocket Division in Kozelsk, Kaluga Region.