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Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday oversaw a scaled-back military parade in Moscow commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Security was tight as Putin spoke at the event, even as a US-brokered three-day ceasefire eased concerns about possible Ukrainian attempts to disrupt the festivities.
Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, declaring that they “face an aggressive force that is armed and supported by the entire bloc of Nato”.
The president did not acknowledge that it was Russia that began the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.


“Victory has always been and will be ours,” Putin said, as columns of troops lined up in Red Square.
“The key to success is our moral strength, courage and valour, our unity and ability to endure anything and overcome any challenge.”
Now in its fifth year, the war with neighbouring Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiralled into Europe’s deadliest since World War II.
US-mediated talks on ending the fighting have shown little progress since February, when Washington shifted focus to its war against Iran.

Putin, in power for over a quarter of a century, has used Victory Day, Russia’s most important secular holiday, to showcase the country’s military might and rally support for his military action in Ukraine.
This year, though, for the first time in nearly two decades, the parade was taking place without tanks, missiles and other heavy weapons, aside from a traditional flyover of combat jets.
Officials said the sudden change of format was due to the “current operational situation” and pointed to the threat of Ukrainian attacks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the authorities took “additional security measures”.

Russia had declared a unilateral ceasefire for Friday and Saturday, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had announced a truce which was supposed to begin on May 6, but those ceasefires did not hold as the parties traded blame for continuing attacks.
US President Donald Trump then announced on Friday that Russia and Ukraine had bowed to his request for a ceasefire running Saturday through Monday and an exchange of prisoners, declaring that the break in fighting could be the “beginning of the end” of the war.
Zelensky, who said earlier this week that the Russian authorities “fear drones may buzz over Red Square” followed up on Trump’s statement by issuing a decree mockingly permitting Russia to hold its celebrations on Saturday, declaring the square temporarily off-limits for Ukrainian strikes.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, shrugged off the decree as a “silly joke”.
“We don’t need anyone’s permission to be proud of our Victory Day,” Peskov told reporters.
He also said that while it was “understandable that the American side is in a ⁠hurry” the issue of ‌a Ukrainian settlement “is far too complex, and reaching a peace agreement ‌is ‌a very long way, with complex details”.
Russia’s bigger and better-equipped military has been making slow but steady gains along the more than 1,000km (over 600-mile) front line.
Ukraine has hit back with increasingly efficient long-range attacks, striking energy facilities, manufacturing plants and military depots. It has developed drones capable of reaching targets over 1,000km deep into Russia, far beyond its capabilities before 2022.

Russian authorities had warned that if Ukraine attempted to disrupt Saturday’s festivities, Russia would carry out a “massive missile strike on the centre of Kyiv”.
The Russian Defence Ministry warned the city’s civilian population and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave “promptly”.
The EU said its diplomats would not leave the capital despite Russian threats.
Putin has used Victory Day celebrations to encourage national pride and underline Russia’s position as a global power.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in 1941 – 45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche and remains a rare point of consensus in the nation’s divisive history under communist rule.
Victory Day parades on Red Square have involved many heavy weapons – from armoured vehicles to nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles – every year since 2008.
Smaller parades are held across the country but many have also been pared down or cancelled for security reasons.
As troops prepared to march across Red Square on Saturday, the authorities ordered restrictions on mobile internet access and text messaging services.
The government has methodically tightened internet censorship and established increasingly stringent controls over online activities, causing rare public expressions of discontent.

Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko were set to attend the festivities in Moscow.
Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, a European Union member, was to meet with Putin and lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier memorial near the Kremlin but planned to stay away from the Red Square parade.
Additional reporting by Associated Press, Agence France-Presse


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Russia

Russian service members take part in a military parade in Moscow on Saturday on Victory Day, marking the 81st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech on Victory Day in Red Square in Moscow on Saturday. Photo: Kremlin/Reuters

Russian jet fighters fly in formation over Moscow on May 6 in preparation for Saturday’s Victory Day parade. Photo: Reuters

Russian servicemen pay their respects on Friday at the Eternal Flame in the Donetsk region of Russian-controlled Ukraine during a ceremony to mark the 81st anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany. Photo: AFP

An apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Moscow on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin welcomes Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar prior to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on Saturday. Photo: via AFP

Russian servicemen march during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia. Photo: EPA

Russian servicemen march during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow’s Red Square on Saturday. Photo: EPA

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Russian servicemen at last year’s Victory Day military parade. Photo: EPA

Russian tanks at last year’s parade. Photo: EPA

Trump announces 3-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine

US President Donald Trump says the ceasefire was agreed to by the leaders of both countries. Photo: AFP 

Russia and Ukraine trade attacks ahead of Moscow war parade

Russian service members rehearsing for Saturday’s parade. Photo: Reuters

Security has been boosted in Moscow for Saturday’s parade. Photo: Reuters

A satellite image shows smoke rising from an oil pumping station in Perm, Russia, following a Ukrainian drone attack on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Sputnik via AP

China confirms it helped Pakistan’s air force during war with India last year

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Why today’s ‘unravelled’ international order echoes the lead-up to WWI

US President Donald Trump, backed by his Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth (centre) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has taken a raft of unilateral actions leaving the international order altered. Photo: Reuters

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At this year’s event, marking WWII victory, troops were told that in Ukraine they face ‘an aggressive force’ armed by the military alliance


At this year’s event, marking WWII victory, troops were told that in Ukraine they face ‘an aggressive force’ armed by the military alliance.


Russia’s Putin criticises Nato’s support for Ukraine at Victory Day parade in Moscow

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}At this year’s event, marking WWII victory, troops were told that in Ukraine they face ‘an aggressive force’ armed by the military alliance

At this year’s event, marking WWII victory, troops were told that in Ukraine they face ‘an aggressive force’ armed by the military alliance