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Quick Facts

- July 17th marks the 80th anniversary of the parade of German prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union in 1944. A Russian website took advantage of the occasion and said that "Moscow re-enacts the parade of the defeated", but there is no reliable basis for this.

- The original content of the source website Свободная Пресса (svpressa.ru) is completely inconsistent with its title. The text points out that now is not a "good time" for the defeated to march. Previously, the website has published misleading content many times, most of which are fabricated or exaggerated based on certain facts.

Background

Recently, there have been rumors on Chinese social media platforms that Russia plans to hold a "loser's parade" in Moscow, with 8,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war and mercenary prisoners forming a square formation, and Russia will broadcast it live around the world to boost the morale of the Russian military and civilians. There are also claims that this "parade" has already been completed.

Check

The online rumor quoted a recent report from the Greek news website Pentapostagma, which said, "8,000 defeated Ukrainians and mercenaries marched in Moscow, and the NATO Secretary-General called for the cancellation of the event." The website claimed that this was news from Russian media, "Moscow hopes to repeat the 'defeatist parade'. At the same time, NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg asked the Russian authorities to cancel the parade and said that 'Russians' behavior is uncivilized.'" But it did not point out the specific source of the information.

Searching the above content in Russian on Yandex shows that on July 17, 1944, Moscow held a "defeaters' parade" of German prisoners during World War II. This year marks the 80th anniversary. For this reason, TASS published a report on July 17 to review the historical event. However, the relevant report did not contain any plan or content to "recreate the parade."

However, some Russian websites did publish content claiming that Russia would hold such a parade, and pointed out that the source of the news was the Свободная Пресса website (svpressa.ru). The original headline of the website on July 17 said "Moscow hopes to repeat the 'loser's parade', NATO is preparing for battle." However, the content of the text did not match the title.

The article states that the current international situation is similar to the time of the parade 80 years ago, "So what prevents Russia from reviving the tradition and organizing a parade for Ukrainian prisoners of war and their mercenaries?" The website interviewed Vadim Trukhachev, an associate professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities on this issue, and the answer he got was, "Look at the situation on the front line... Western countries believe that Russia is running out of strength, and except for Donetsk and Luhansk, it does not control any regional center... Therefore, holding a 'loser's parade' now is not entirely appropriate. Instead, it is an irony because there is nothing to celebrate yet." Some reports say that Russia currently holds around 6,000 to 10,000 Ukrainian military prisoners. Trukhachev believes that most of these people are deceived Russians, not pure Nazis, and only need to be reformed.

In short, the article did not mention the source of the "reenactment parade" and its main purpose was to discuss whether a prisoner of war parade should be held.

In addition, the article also mentioned the NATO Secretary-General's opposition, pointing to the exhibition held by Russia in Moscow on May 1, which exhibited weapons and military equipment captured in special military operations. However, there is no evidence for the so-called "opposition", and this statement was fabricated by Svobodnaya Prèssa in an earlier report.

It should be pointed out that before this, the website also published a very misleading report, saying that "Macron sent 4,000 soldiers and 50 main battle tanks to Odessa". After verification, "The Paper" confirmed that the statement was untrue and was a fabrication based on the fact that "France increased its troops in Romania to prepare for the 2025 spring exercises."

In summary, the online rumors are untrue. July 17 is the 80th anniversary of the German Prisoners of War Parade held by the Soviet Union in 1944. A Russian website took advantage of the topic and said "Moscow re-enacts the defeated parade", but there is no reliable basis for this.

The original content of the source website Свободная Пресса (svpressa.ru) is completely inconsistent with its title. The text points out that now is not a "good time" for the defeated to march. Previously, the website has published misleading content many times, most of which are fabricated or exaggerated based on certain facts.