Vladimir Putin presided this Saturday over the most reduced Victory Day parade in nearly two decades in Red Square, Moscow, commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with a ceremony that lasted only 45 minutes and, for the first time since 2007, did not include tanks, missiles, or any military vehicles.
Russian authorities justified the reduction due to the "current operational situation" and the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, stated that "additional security measures" were adopted, but analysts interpret the diminished format as a reflection of the wear and tear that the war in Ukraine has imposed on Putin's regime.
The parade was restricted to the march of foot troops and a flyover of six Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets, a far cry from the displays of previous years that included intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
The Russian state television broadcast the event on tape delay, not live, to avoid, as reported, "a humiliation in front of the Russians in case of any unforeseen circumstances."
At least 26 regions of Russia canceled their own parades, especially those provinces near the battlefield, and several more held them in a reduced format without vehicles.
Moscow also imposed restrictions on access to mobile internet and text messaging services in the capital during the event, a measure that adds to the systematic tightening of online censorship that the Kremlin has intensified since the start of the war.
In his speech to the participants, Putin asserted that his soldiers are fighting in Ukraine against an "aggressive force, armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc," and proclaimed: "Victory has always been and will be ours. The key to success is our moral strength, our courage and bravery, our unity, and the ability to endure anything and overcome any challenge."
After the speech, propaganda images were shown highlighting the supposed "achievements" of the Russian army in Ukraine.
Among those who paraded were North Korean soldiers, marking their historic first participation in Victory Day, recognized by the official announcer as those who contributed "to defeating the neo-Nazi invaders in the Kursk region."
International participation was significantly lower than that of the 80th anniversary in 2025, when Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro attended. This year, the King of Malaysia, the presidents of Laos, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus, and the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, were present.
The event took place under the shadow of a three-day truce negotiated by Donald Trump, who described it as "the beginning of the end of a long, bloody, and hard-fought war." However, previous ceasefire agreements—including a unilateral Russian truce for Orthodox Easter in April 2026—had not been respected, and both sides accused each other of violations.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a sarcastic decree that "authorized Russia to celebrate Victory Day" and declared Red Square "temporarily closed to Ukrainian attacks." Peskov described the gesture as a "stupid joke" and responded: "We don't need anyone's permission to be proud of Victory Day."
In parallel, the Cuban dictatorship seized the opportunity to join the commemoration: Díaz-Canel sent a "grateful hug" to Putin on the occasion of Victory Day, while the day before, the Russian Embassy in Havana organized the "Immortal Regiment" march along Fifth Avenue, led by Ambassador Víktor Koronelli.
The parade this year is the smallest since 2007 and stands in contrast to that of 2025, which featured over 11,000 military personnel and 200 vehicles. According to European intelligence reports collected by the Financial Times and CNN, Putin spends long periods in underground bunkers in the Krasnodar region, and by the end of April, he had made only two public appearances in person throughout 2026, compared to at least 17 in the same period of 2025.
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