On the occasion of the anniversary of the Victory Day in Russia, one of the people present at the ceremony was the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Valery Gerasimov.

This year's parade was the first in which Russia's top military general did not show up, along with President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the third man to hold the keys to Russia's nuclear arsenal.

Unlike Gerasimov, Shoigu was part of today's parade in Moscow.

The Kremlin did not say a word about the lack of a military leader.

According to Western sources, Gerasimov personally traveled to Ukraine in late April, where he would personally take command of the Russian offensive in Donbas.

On May 1, Ukrainian sources reported that Gerasimov was wounded during the Ukrainian attack on the command post near Izyum and was suspected of suffering serious injuries.

He has since lost all trace of him, but some witnesses say they had money as he boarded a plane.

In a speech on Victory Day and a military parade in Moscow's central square, Putin paid tribute to the Russian armed forces in the Donbas, saying the homeland was being defended there.

/ Telegraphy /