THIS YEAR’S Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9th involved nothing triumphal(胜利的，凯旋的). For the first time in two decades tanks and other military vehicles did not rumble through Red Square in celebration of the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany. Russia’s authorities deemed(认为，视为) it too great a risk to cram(塞满，挤入) armoured vehicles and missile-carriers into nearby staging areas—they would have made far too juicy a target(过于诱人的目标) for Ukraine’s increasingly effective drones. In the run-up to the big day, mobile internet services in Moscow and St Petersburg were cut off for security reasons. Large numbers of air-defence systems were redeployed from remote parts of the country.
今年5月9日莫斯科的胜利日阅兵毫无胜利气氛。二十年来首次没有坦克和其他军用车辆隆隆驶过红场，以庆祝苏联在击败纳粹德国中所起的作用。俄罗斯当局认为将装甲车和导弹发射车挤进附近集结区风险太大——它们会成为乌克兰日益高效的无人机太诱人的目标。在节日来临之前，莫斯科和圣彼得堡的移动互联网服务出于安全原因被切断。大量防空系统从该国偏远地区重新部署。
Rubbing in the insult Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, issued a decree(法令) to “permit” the parade to proceed, saying that Red Square would not be attacked. This came shortly after Ukraine and Russia agreed to a three-day ceasefire brokered(斡旋的，调停的) by America, though by May 10th both sides were accusing the other of having violated it. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, speaking after the parade, said he thought the war was “coming to an end”.(俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京在阅兵后发言称，他认为战争“即将结束”。)
更让俄罗斯难堪的是，乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基颁布了一项法令，“允许”阅兵继续进行，称不会攻击红场。此前不久，乌克兰和俄罗斯同意了由美国斡旋的三天停火协议，但到5月10日，双方相互指责对方违反协议。俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京在阅兵后发表讲话，称他认为战争“即将结束”。
The symbolism of the diminished parade is hard to overstate(怎么强调都不为过). A day that was meant to epitomise(象征，体现) the military might of Mr Putin’s Russia instead signalled its vulnerability and weakness. In this, at least, it was an accurate reflection of Russia’s battlefield setbacks, and of Russia’s fear of the growing effectiveness of Ukraine’s long-range strikes. For the first time in nearly three years the initiative in the war appears to have shifted in favour of Ukraine. Having got through a harsh winter, when its cities and energy grid were pummelled(猛烈打击，重创) almost nightly by massed Russian drones and missiles, Ukraine is now turning the tide(扭转局势). It is imposing increasing costs on Russia by almost every measure.
这次缩水阅兵的象征意义怎么强调都不为过。这本应彰显普京领导下俄罗斯军事实力的一天，反而发出了其脆弱和疲弱的信号。至少在这一点上，它准确反映了俄罗斯在战场上的挫折，以及俄罗斯对乌克兰远程打击效能日益增长的恐惧。近三年来，战争主动权首次似乎转向了对乌克兰有利的一方。在度过了一个严酷的冬天（其城市和能源电网几乎每晚都遭到俄罗斯大量无人机和导弹的轰击）之后，乌克兰正在扭转局势。它正通过几乎每一项指标给俄罗斯带来越来越高的代价。
