Putin oversees scaled-back Victory Day parade amid temporary ceasefire with Ukraine

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR Putin has described his war goals in Ukraine as “just” and denounced NATO in a combative address at a scaled back Victory Day parade in Russia.

It comes as a US-brokered three-day ceasefire came into effect this morning, easing Russian concerns that Ukraine would attempt to disrupt the event. 

A spate of long-range attacks in recent weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up defence measures for this year’s celebrations. Security was tight in Moscow before the parade in Red Square, with mobile internet also disrupted. 

The parade was also vastly scaled back compared to previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades.

Only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia and Laos, as well as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, were in attendance, in contrast to high-profile visitors including China’s Xi Jinping during last year’s event.

Addressing the parade, attended by Russian military units as well as soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the Soviet victory to rally support for his army in Ukraine.

“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,” he said.

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“They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And despite this, our heroes move forward. 

“Victory has always been and will be ours. The key to success is our moral strength, courage and valour, our unity and ability to endure anything and overcome any challenge.”

He added later: “I firmly believe that our cause is just.”

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.

Three-day ceasefire

After two failed attempts at truces this week by both Russia and Ukraine, US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that a three-day ceasefire between both sides would come into effect from this morning. 

“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network, adding the ceasefire would be accompanied by a prisoner exchange.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree yesterday ordering the Ukrainian military not to attack the parade.

Moscow had threatened a “massive” strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the proceedings.

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In a separate statement, Zelenskyy confirmed his government would adhere to the ceasefire to enable the swap of 1,000 detainees from each warring side.

“Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the historic site in the Russian capital where the annual event is held.

Both the Ukrainian air force and Russian defence ministry reported fewer drone attacks overnight.

Now in its fifth year, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiralled into Europe’s deadliest since World War II.

US-mediated talks on ending the fighting have shown little progress since February, when Washington shifted focus to its war against Iran.

Before Trump’s announcement, Zelenskyy had balked at the idea of a truce over the parade and warned Moscow’s allies against attending.

He expressed hope yesterday that US envoys would visit Ukraine in the coming weeks to reboot talks on ending the war.

With reporting from © AFP 2026 

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