Putin Oversees Streamlined Victory Day Parade in Moscow After Zelensky Grants ‘Permission’

(SeaPRwire) –   Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a scaled-down Victory Day parade in Moscow on Saturday, omitting the customary display of tanks and missile carriers traversing Red Square to commemorate the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany.

The Russian Defense Ministry attributed the subdued ceremony to the “current operational situation,” referring to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. However, Russian officials were reportedly also concerned about the threat posed by Kyiv’s advanced fleet of long-range drones, which have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years.

Traditionally, the parade has served as a demonstration of Russia’s military might, honoring the 27 million Soviet citizens who perished in World War II while showcasing the nation’s formidable arsenal, including nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Yet this year’s event marked Moscow’s most modest Victory Day celebration in recent memory, coinciding with the Kremlin’s struggle to achieve significant battlefield advances in Ukraine, now entering its fifth year.

Fewer international leaders and journalists attended compared to last year’s grandiose parade, prompting most media representatives to rely on Russian state media coverage. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained Friday that the reduced attendance was due to the “limited” nature of the entire ceremony. CNN had initially been accredited to cover the event but had those privileges revoked on Thursday.

Among those present were Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith, and Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim. Russian soldiers and sailors—alongside North Korean troops believed to have fought alongside them in Ukraine—marched through Moscow’s capital as fighter jets soared overhead. The parade concluded after just 45 minutes.

“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,” Putin declared in his speech, referencing the war in Ukraine. “They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the whole bloc of NATO. And despite this, our heroes move forward.”

Large screens showcased fighter jets, intercontinental missiles, drones, and a nuclear submarine, still an attempt to demonstrate military strength.

He appeared under heavy security, following reports that the Kremlin has intensified surveillance of Putin amid fears of assassination attempts and potential coup plots.

Zelensky gives ‘permission’ for parade to take place 

Last week, Russia unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to a ceasefire on the day of the parade. However, on Friday, President Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had reached a sudden three-day ceasefire from May 9 to 11, which includes “a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country.”

“This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” Trump stated on Truth Social. “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War.”

Zelensky responded in an official presidential decree laced with sarcasm, saying he would “permit the holding of a parade,” adding on X that “the Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be brought home.”

Peskov, meanwhile, told reporters that Russia did not “need anyone’s permission to be proud of our Victory Day.” The Russian Defense Ministry had previously threatened to “launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv” if it disrupted the parade.

Nevertheless, Ukraine’s long-range missiles and drones have grown increasingly dangerous to Russia, with one drone crashing into a high-rise building located miles away from the Kremlin in western Moscow just days before the event.

Russia making slow progress on battlefield 

More than four years after launching what it initially described as a “three-day special military operation,” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has devolved into a protracted stalemate.

New figures released by the Latvia-based Russian-language outlet Meduza and independent Russian outlet Mediazona indicate that approximately 352,000 Russian soldiers have died in the conflict with Ukraine from February 2022 through December 2025.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, reported similar casualty numbers in January. CSIS also noted that Russia is “advancing remarkably slowly on the battlefield,” as its economic position continues to deteriorate due to the war’s financial burden.

For example, a Russian offensive targeting the city of Pokrovsk progressed at a rate of only 70 meters per day between February 2024 and January 2026, a pace that CSIS described as “slower than the most brutal offensive campaigns over the last century, including the notoriously bloody Battle of the Somme during World War I.”

Despite these losses, Moscow maintains that it can outlast Kyiv, continuing to make incremental advances along the 600-mile front line.