Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Victory Day military parade on the 9th local time, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, and again asserted the legitimacy of the war in Ukraine.
According to Russia's state-run Tass news agency and others, the parade began with soldiers carrying the Russian flag entering Red Square. President Putin appeared at the venue with leaders of friendly nations. As Ukraine's long-range drone attacks have continued recently, he had reduced public activities, and in his speech he criticized the West and Ukraine.
Putin said, "Russia is facing aggressive forces supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)," and added, "Heroes at the front and in the rear are moving toward victory." He went on, "I firmly believe our cause is just," stressing the legitimacy of the invasion of Ukraine.
Leaders of Russia's allies, including Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, were also reported to have attended the event. However, Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, a member of the European Union (EU), was said to have planned only to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with President Putin and not attend the parade.
This year's 81st Victory Day parade was held without heavy weapons such as tanks and missiles for the first time since 2007. Cadets from military academies and some military equipment units also did not take part. Last year's parade was the largest since the war in Ukraine began. The Russian side explained the move as taking into account the possibility of terrorist threats from Ukraine.
For security reasons, Russia also restricted some communication services on the day of the event. On-site coverage was allowed only for some media, including the Kremlin press pool.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, regarding the possibility of Ukrainian interference with the event, said, "Nothing was attempted and everything is fine."
The parade took place as a truce between Russia and Ukraine from the 9th to the 11th was being pushed forward with U.S. mediation.
Russia earlier declared a truce for the Victory Day holiday on the 8th and 9th, but announced it without prior consultation with Ukraine, drawing criticism that it was a measure to ensure the safety of the Victory Day events. Ukraine then declared its own truce from 12 a.m. on the 6th, but both sides continued to trade attacks without recognizing each other's truce declarations.