Russia Holds Scaled-Back Victory Day Parade as Zelenskyy Decree Bars Strikes in Moscow

Russia held a scaled-back Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square on Saturday as a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine took effect, with no tanks or other military equipment rolling over the cobbles of Red Square.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over his most pared-back Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square, after a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine took effect”

CNN

NBC News reported that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave specific assurances there would not be a strike on the event in Moscow “under the temporary ceasefire deal that includes a prisoner exchange to free 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war.”

CNN

The Kyiv Independent described Zelensky’s May 8 declaration as authorizing “the holding of a parade in Moscow (Russian Federation) on May 9, 2026,” while excluding Red Square from the plan for the use of Ukrainian weapons for the duration of the parade beginning at 10:00 a.m. Kyiv time.

The same NBC account said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off Zelenskyy’s decree as a “silly joke,” even as Putin appeared amid tight security and vowed to fight on in Ukraine against “an aggressive force that is armed and supported by the entire bloc of NATO.”

Zelenskyy’s public messaging tied the ceasefire and the parade to the risk of drone attacks, with the Kyiv Independent arguing that Moscow’s fears that Ukraine would disrupt the Victory Day celebration with drone attacks proved overblown.

NBC News reported that Zelenskyy had earlier in the week questioned Russia’s unilateral offer of a ceasefire, saying the Kremlin was “afraid that drones may buzz over Red Square,” and Russian officials interpreted his words as a threat to strike the parade.

Kyiv Post

In response to Zelenskyy’s decree, Peskov told reporters, “We don’t need anyone’s permission to be proud of our Victory Day,” while also playing down hopes for a settlement by saying “the issue of a Ukrainian settlement is far too complex.”

The Kyiv Independent also framed the decree as a direct challenge to the Kremlin’s narrative, quoting Zelensky’s decree language that “the area of Red Square shall be excluded from the plan for the use of Ukrainian weapons” for the parade’s duration.

The ceasefire and prisoner exchange were presented as a near-term test of whether fighting could pause, with NBC News saying the deal included a prisoner exchange to free 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war and with CNN describing the three-day ceasefire as taking effect after a halt to fighting and a large-scale prisoner exchange.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday, May 9, that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an "aggressive force" backed by all of NATO and described his war goals as "just", in a combative address to the annual Victory Day parade on Red Square”

Le Monde.fr

CNN added that the parade’s curtailed format and security posture unfolded after intensified Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory, particularly against oil refineries, and it said the Kremlin had warned about mobile internet outages in the capital to “ensure the safety of Victory Day celebrations.”

The Kyiv Independent portrayed the decree as limiting Ukrainian action to the precise boundaries of Red Square, asserting that “Attacking Red Square on May 9 with drones would be a waste of Ukraine’s resources,” while also describing the decree as “not just a joke but a succinct threat.”

Meanwhile, Ukrinform said the parade on Red Square lasted around 45 minutes and was held without military hardware amid mobile internet shutdowns in Moscow due to concerns over possible drone attacks, underscoring how the war’s long-range strike risk shaped the event’s next iteration.