Across more than two decades in power, President Vladimir Putin has worked to turn Russia's historic World War II memorial event into a celebration of future military glory and global clout.
But this year's Victory Day jamboree only underscores his failure to deliver.
The pared-back festivities on May 9 " commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany at the cost of an estimated 27 million Soviet lives " is the clearest sign yet that the Kremlin's war in Ukraine is taking its toll.
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