Day 1,168. Today, as Friedrich Merz suffers a “humiliating and unexpected setback” on his way to becoming German Chancellor, we report how the Kremlin is preparing for Friday’s Victory Day parade, all while nervously watching the skies for Ukrainian drones, after two successive nights of attacks on Moscow. Contributors: Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnely on X. With thanks to Ash Bhardwaj, an award-