For Vladimir Putin, the war led by Russia in Ukraine "is a just cause"

Russia commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany on Friday May 9. Like every year, these May 9 ceremonies were an opportunity for Vladimir Putin to deliver a speech on Red Square. “I am firmly convinced that our cause is just. We are together. The victory was ours and it will be forever”he declared in a parallel between the conflict in Ukraine and the Second World War, before the Russian anthem sounded.

“The great feat of the victorious generation [contre l’Allemagne] today inspires the soldiers who lead the special military operation [la guerre en Ukraine]. They face an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc.”declared Vladimir Putin, from the podium.

The military parade on Red Square preceded this speech. Several hundred soldiers were reviewed by Defense Minister Andrey Belooussov, while President Vladimir Putin sat in the stands, according to images from Russian public television.

To the sound of music from an orchestra, the soldiers responded with “Hurray” during this first part of the parade. Soldiers from the North Korean army, which helped Moscow drive out Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region in the spring of 2025, took part in the commemorations, according to Russian television.

This parade lasted only 45 minutes, in a very reduced setting, against a backdrop of fears that it would be targeted by Ukrainian drones: for the first time in almost twenty years, there was no military equipment on Red Square, nor cadet corps and military schools. A three-day ceasefire, starting on Saturday, was finally announced on Friday by American President Donald Trump, removing the risk of an attack.

The number of foreign dignitaries present was also decreasing: only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia and Laos and the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico traveled to Moscow. Mobile internet did not work in the center of Moscow, after recurring cuts in previous days, and the streets of the capital were almost all deserted, AFP journalists noted.