Berlin, 9 May 2026 (dpa/MIA) – Moscow is marking Victory Day on Saturday with its traditional military parade, but the celebrations are being held under heightened security and without the usual display of heavy defence equipment.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin is giving a speech to mark the 81st anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, as the Soviet part of World War II is formally known. 

A large security detail was protecting the president during his public appearance and mobile internet has been shut down.

Earlier, soldiers and cadets marched past Putin in a scaled-down parade with fewer guests, that is seen as symbolic of the situation in Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, launched in 2022. 

The absence of tanks, missiles and military equipment is reportedly due to concerns over possible Ukrainian drone attacks.

The Kremlin also withdrew invitations to foreign journalists at short notice. Only a few foreign dignitaries are expected, including Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the only EU leader present in Moscow, though he is not due to attend the parade itself.

The authorities also imposed restrictions in the capital, and the mobile internet blackouts extend beyond Moscow to other cities too.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a three-day ceasefire from Saturday to Monday at his request. The statement followed days of conflicting and overlapping ceasefire announcements by the two sides.

Russia had previously declared a unilateral ceasefire that coincided with the Victory Day events.

Ukraine responded with a unilateral truce beginning May 6, but later withdrew it after it said Russia had continued with its attacks, including one of its largest drone strikes so far in the conflict.

Russia commemorates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II on May 9 because the German Wehrmacht’s surrender in 1945 was signed late on May 8 in Berlin, when it was already past midnight in Moscow.

Photo: epa