Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a pared-back Victory Day celebration on Saturday in Moscow’s Red Square, as a three-day ceasefire in the war in Ukraine appeared to hold.
The annual May 9 parade to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II was held under heavy security amid fears of Ukrainian attacks. For the first time in years, no armored vehicles or ballistic missiles featured in Putin's Victory Day parade.
Ahead of the celebrations, Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a three-day ceasefire and prisoner exchange mediated by the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday. The ceasefire is to run from Saturday to Monday to facilitate the transfer of 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, Trump said on social media.
Speaking to the crowd Saturday morning, Putin invoked the sacrifices of the Second World War to rally support for his soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the warriors carrying out the tasks of the special military operation today,” the Russian leader said, using the Kremlin's euphemism for his invasion of Ukraine.
“They stand against an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc," Putin said. "And despite this, our heroes move forward. Victory has always been and will always be ours,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly signaled his support for the ceasefire on Friday, thanking Trump for helping coordinate the agreement. “I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement,” Zelenskyy said. “We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side fulfills these agreements.”
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating past ceasefire agreements on multiple occasions. Russia declared a brief ceasefire to commemorate Orthodox Easter in April, which allowed the two countries to exchange 175 prisoners of war. But both sides claimed the other launched attacks during the ceasefire window.
