An old Soviet tank belly flops at a 75th-anniversary celebration of the Battle of Kursk

In Kursk, at a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk, a T-34 tank flipped onto its side after slipping off a loading platform during a parade. Neither the mechanic driving the machine nor the spectators were injured. The tank had reportedly been delivered from the Leningrad region specifically to lead a convoy of armored vehicles in the festivities.

Is this just a dumb story about an old tank?

Yes, it is, but misbehaving tanks at parades celebrating the glory days of the Second World War are not always frivolous news. In May 2015, one of Russia’s T-14 Armata tanks stalled during a rehearsal for that year’s Victory Parade in Red Square. A vehicle that state propagandists say has “fully robotic battle” potential, the T-14 Armata’s underwhelming performance brought mockery from journalists.