The war in Ukraine is "just" : at the May 9 parade, Vladimir Putin defends his army which "faces an aggressive force supported by NATO"

A parade in a reduced format, despite the ceasefire. The great Russian military parade which commemorates the 81st anniversary of the Nazi capitulation took place this Saturday, May 9 in Moscow. A parade usually organized with great pomp but this year much more sober, without tanks, military vehicles and with absent soldiers.

Russia announced these measures at the end of April due to fears of a Ukrainian drone attack, and the three-day ceasefire announced by Donald Trump on the eve of this celebration will have come too late to have an influence on the holding of the parade.

No armored vehicles or missile launchers on Red Square, therefore – only soldiers will parade in front of Vladimir Putin and the official platform. This is a first since 2007. Hundreds of soldiers stood on Moscow’s main square and were reviewed by Defense Minister Andrey Beloussov, while President Vladimir Putin sat in the stands.

A “just” war according to Vladimir Putin

To the sound of music from an orchestra, the soldiers shouted “Hurray” during this first part of the parade, followed by a speech from Vladimir Putin, in power for 26 years. The latter considered in his speech to be waging a “just” war against Ukraine, citing the commemoration of the Nazi capitulation as an “inspiration” for “the soldiers who are leading the special military operation” in Ukraine. “They face an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc.”

The Russian president’s speech was a little shorter than usual, as was the parade, which lasted only 45 minutes this year. Despite the ceasefire, the disruptions that had been announced on the telephone networks were maintained, aiming to block any possible attempt at geolocation and to complicate the task of Ukrainian agents who would have tried to transmit the precise coordinates to the Ukrainian army.

Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, declared that he accepted the three-day ceasefire, and ordered the army not to attack the parade planned on Red Square. Moscow also confirmed having accepted the truce and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country announced by Donald Trump. “Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be repatriated,” the Ukrainian president said.