It lasted 45 minutes: the May 9 parade in Moscow took place without military vehicles
9 May 14:03
The Victory Day parade on Red Square on Saturday, May 9, was scaled down and, compared to similar events in previous years, was relatively short—lasting only 45 minutes, according to "Komersant Ukrainian", citing DW.
According to media reports, more than 1,000 participants in the full-scale war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for five years marched across the square. Among others, the parade included servicemen from the unmanned aerial vehicle forces, which attack the country daily with large numbers of drones. In addition, North Korean servicemen marched across Red Square on Victory Day for the first time.
Foreign politicians at the parade
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin addressed the parade, calling Victory Day a “sacred holiday” for Russia. Seated next to him on the podium were Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko with his son Nikolai, the head of unrecognized Abkhazia Badr Gunba, and the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Also present were the leaders of Laos and Malaysia.
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The Kremlin claims that they all came on their own initiative; foreign leaders were not invited to this year’s parade. On May 8, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Moscow but did not attend the parade. Furthermore, according to media reports, no members of the Russian government were present at the parade; only members of the Security Council—the heads of the Ministry of Defense, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Foreign Intelligence Service—were in attendance.
For the first time, a participant in the war in Ukraine was seated next to Putin— Leonid Ryzhov, one of the Russian commanders at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Victory Day parade on May 9 in Moscow took place without military equipment
For the first time, the parade took place without military equipment. Russian authorities explained this decision by citing the threat of UAV attacks from Ukraine. Additionally, Russian authorities declined to include students from the Suvorov and Nakhimov military schools, as well as cadet corps. The Russian Ministry of Defense attributed this decision to the “current operational situation.” Meanwhile, the air portion of the parade took place.
READ ALSO: Trump announced a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia: what it entails
Mobile internet was shut down in Moscow due to the parade. According to Russian Telegram channels, even websites from the so-called “white list” were inaccessible in the center of the Russian capital. Several streets were also blocked, and passenger entry and exit were restricted at several central metro stations. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that there were no attempts to disrupt the event in Moscow.
Similar events took place in a number of other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, where the parade was opened by participants in the war against Ukraine. Russian military personnel used drones to scatter thousands of leaflets with May 9 greetings over Ukrainian Armed Forces positions, according to media reports citing a drone operator from the Southern Military District.
Zelenskyy “allowed” the parade in Moscow
The previous evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree “authorizing a parade to be held in Moscow on May 9, 2026.” The decree explains that this decision was made “in light of numerous requests, for humanitarian purposes, as specified in negotiations with the American side on May 8, 2026.”
“For the duration of the parade (from 10 a.m. Kyiv time on May 9, 2026), the area of Red Square shall be excluded from the plan for the use of Ukrainian weapons,” reads the decree, which took effect immediately upon signing. It contains the exact coordinates of the territory covered by the ban on strikes.
In recent weeks, Russian authorities have repeatedly expressed concerns regarding possible attacks by Ukrainian drones on May 9 in Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Defense unilaterally declared a ceasefire for May 8–9. In response, Zelenskyy stated that a ceasefire had been in effect since May 6, yet Russian forces continued their strikes on Ukraine. On the night of May 9, Russia struck Ukraine with Iskander missiles and more than 40 UAVs.
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