Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed unwavering confidence in a victory in Ukraine during Saturday’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, an event notably scaled back and missing heavy military hardware for the first time in almost two decades.
The annual commemoration of Nazi Germany’s defeat, a cornerstone of Russia’s secular calendar, saw heightened security and the presence of several foreign leaders.
The scaled-down display, which traditionally showcases the nation’s military might, occurred amidst a US-brokered three-day ceasefire, easing concerns over potential disruptions from Ukraine.
Mr Putin, who has led Russia for over a quarter-century, has consistently leveraged Victory Day to galvanise support for his military campaign in Ukraine, now entering its fifth year.
Addressing columns of troops on Red Square, he lauded Russian forces, asserting they “face an aggressive force that is armed and supported by the entire bloc of Nato” and are engaged in a “just cause.”
He declared, “Victory has always been and will be ours,” adding, “The key to success is our moral strength, courage and valor, our unity and ability to endure anything and overcome any challenge.”
This year’s parade, however, marked a significant departure, proceeding without tanks, missiles, or other heavy equipment, save for a traditional flyover of combat jets.
Officials explained the sudden change of format by the “current operational situation” and said that additional security measures have been taken in response to the threat of Ukrainian attacks. State television commentators said that the heavy weaponry was more needed at the battlefield in Ukraine.
For the first time, Saturday’s parade featured troops from North Korea, a tribute to Pyongyang that sent its soldiers to fight alongside Moscow forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
Russia declared a unilateral ceasefire for Friday and Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a truce that was supposed to begin on May 6, but neither of them held as the parties traded blame for continuing attacks.
US President Donald Trump announced Friday that Russia and Ukraine have bowed to his request for a ceasefire running Saturday through Monday and an exchange of prisoners, declaring that the break in fighting could be the “beginning of the end” of the war.
Zelenskyy, who said earlier this week that the Russian authorities “fear drones may buzz over Red Square” on 9 May, followed up on Trump’s statement by issuing a decree mockingly permitting Russia to hold its Victory Day celebrations on Saturday, declaring Red Square temporarily off-limits for Ukrainian strikes.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off Zelensky’s decree as a “silly joke”. “We don’t need anyone’s permission to be proud of our Victory Day” Peskov told reporters.
Russia’s bigger and better-equipped military has been making slow but steady gains along the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. Ukraine has hit back with increasingly efficient long-range attacks, striking Russian energy facilities, manufacturing plants and military depots.
It has developed drones capable of reaching targets over 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles) deep into Russia, far beyond its capabilities before 2022.
Russian authorities warned that if Ukraine attempts to disrupt Saturday’s festivities, Russia will carry out a “massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv”.
The Russian Defense Ministry warned the civilian population there and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of “the need to leave the city promptly”. The EU said its diplomats wouldn’t leave the Ukrainian capital despite Russian threats.
Putin has used Victory Day celebrations to encourage national pride and underline Russia’s position as a global power.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in 1941-45 in what it calls the Great Patriotic War, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche and remains a rare point of consensus in the nation’s divisive history under Communist rule.
“We celebrate it with feelings of pride and love for our country, with understanding of our shared duty to defend the interests and future of our Motherland,” Putin said at the parade.
“Our soldiers suffered colossal losses, made a colossal sacrifice in the name of freedom and dignity of the peoples of Europe, became the embodiment of courage and nobility, fortitude and humanity, and crowned themselves with the great glory of a grandiose victory.”
Victory Day parades on Red Square have involved a broad array of heavy weapons — from armored vehicles to nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles — every year since 2008. Smaller parades are held elsewhere across the country, but this time many of them have also been pared down or even canceled altogether for security reasons.
The authorities on Saturday ordered restrictions on all mobile internet access and text messaging services in the Russian capital, citing the need to ensure public safety.
The government has methodically tightened internet censorship and established increasingly stringent controls over online activities, causing rumblings and rare public expressions of discontent.
Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko attended the festivities in the Russian capital.
Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, a European Union member, laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial just outside the Kremlin walls but stayed away from the Red Square parade.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Fico’s trip, saying, “I deeply regret this, and we will discuss his visit to Moscow with him.”
Speaking at a meeting with Putin in the Kremlin, Fico bemoaned what he called a new “Iron Curtain” in Europe that hampered trade, and emphasized the importance of Russia’s energy supplies to Slovakia. Putin hailed the Slovak leader for conducting a “sovereign” foreign policy and honoring the memory of fallen Red Army soldiers.
