Russian servicemen marching during the Victory Day parade, marking the 71st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Moscow's Red Square yesterday. President Vladimir Putin, alongside several Soviet war veterans, attended the event, an annual fixture that this year displayed the advanced S-400 air defence missile system used to protect its base in Syria and some of the jets that have flown missions there. Columns of tanks followed the troops, and Russia's latest Yars mobile intercontinental nuclear missile launcher was also on show. Scores of military aircraft then flew over the Red Square, including jets which emitted multicoloured smoke to trace a red, blue and white Russian flag in the sky.