Russia Holds Scaled-Down Victory Day Parade as Three-Day Ceasefire Takes Effect
Russia held its annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, but scaled it down due to security concerns and the threat of Ukrainian drone strikes. President Putin used the occasion to invoke Soviet victory in WWII to rally support for the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Scaled-Back Celebration
The parade, scaled back this year due to security concerns, started at about 10am (07:00 GMT) in Red Square, with a military formation bearing the Russian flag. In a marked departure this year, Russian authorities previously announced there would be no display of heavy military hardware, and instead a series of slick, pre-produced, pre-recorded videos that state media said were from the frontlines of Russia's war was broadcast on screens in the Red Square.
Putin's Address
In Putin's address to the parade, attended by Russian military units as well as soldiers from North Korea, the Russian president invoked the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to rally support for his army in Ukraine, saying "The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today."
Ukraine's Response
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said earlier this week that the Russian authorities "fear drones may buzz over Red Square" on May 9, followed up on Trump's Friday statement by issuing a decree mockingly permitting Russia to hold its Victory Day celebrations on Saturday.