Now in the livestream This is how dull Putin's Victory Day parade is
No tanks, hardly any prominent guests: this year's Victory Day parade on Red Square shows less Putin's power than Russia's vulnerability in the war against Ukraine. But see for yourself in the livestream!
09.05.2026, 09:36
09.05.2026, 14:26
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No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Putin's victory parade in Moscow was much smaller than before. Fearing Ukrainian drones, Russia dispensed with tanks and missiles, while Zelensky mocked the Kremlin with a provocative message.
- International support was largely absent. Apart from Lukashenko, only a few heads of state from ex-Soviet states traveled to Moscow, with only Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico from the EU present.
- Trump surprisingly announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as well as a planned exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war. By Saturday morning, no violations of the ceasefire had initially been reported.
Putin will not look back fondly on this victory parade in the future. He neither dares to have tanks and missiles driven onto Red Square, nor can he present himself with powerful state leaders at his side.
Fear of Ukrainian drones - neither tanks nor drones at the parade
Fears of Ukrainian drone attacks are spreading in Moscow. Russia has threatened to launch counter-attacks on the center of Kiev if this happens.
As a provocative jab at the Russian power apparatus, Zelensky signed what he called a "permit" for the Moscow parade. He listed the exact GPS coordinates of Red Square and instructed his military not to attack there. The Kremlin subsequently rejected this "stupid joke".
No illustrious state guests
Apparently Putin does not want any powerful state leaders at his side at this rump parade. The official word from Moscow is that no invitations have been sent out. Perhaps these were not sent out in order to avoid having to accept cancellations.
The list of foreign guests is short. Representatives of internationally unrecognized entities such as South Ossetia and Abkhazia were included. In addition to the always loyal permanent guest Alexander Lukashenko from Belarus, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Kassym-Shomart Tokayev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, arrived in Moscow at short notice.
The only guest from the European Union is Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. He will not take part in the military parade, but laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier on the Kremlin wall on Friday. Fico's visit to Moscow has been met with criticism both at home and in the EU.
Russian army needs Trump's protection
US President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced in Washington on Friday that Putin and the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Selenskyj had agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire until 11 May.
Both sides also wanted to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform - along with the message: "Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and hard-fought war." Talks about an end to the war - "the biggest since World War II" - continued.
A ceasefire unilaterally declared by Moscow had already been in place since Friday for the celebration in Russia commemorating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Despite this, according to the Ukrainians, the Russian army continued to attack so often that Zelenskyi said he initially saw no reason to let the guns fall silent. Both sides bombarded each other with drone attacks.
Trump's ceasefire then began at dawn on Saturday at midnight local time in Moscow and Kiev (23:00 CEST on Friday). Neither side reported any violations of the ceasefire until the morning.
According to his own statements, Selensky responded to Trump's request primarily because of the prisoner exchange. "Another argument for Ukraine in determining our position was always the solution to one of the most important humanitarian problems of this war - namely the release of prisoners of war," he wrote on the X portal.
Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov confirmed the ceasefire, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. The agreement had come about as a result of recent Russian telephone contacts with the US leadership, he said. "For their part, the US representatives were in contact with Kiev."
