Victory Parade address
\nUkrainian attacks in recent weeks prompted Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize celebrations
\n Moscow
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an \u201caggressive force\u201d backed by all of Nato and described his war goals as \u201cjust\u201d, in a combative address to the annual Victory Day parade on Red Square.
\nPutin has made the memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II a central narrative of his 25-year rule, and authorities typically mark the parade with pomp and grandeur.
\nBut a spate of Ukrainian long-range attacks in recent weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize this year\u2019s celebrations.
\nThe parade was vastly scaled back compared to previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades and only a handful of foreign dignitaries in attendance \u2014 most of them leaders of Russia\u2019s close allies.
\nBoth Moscow and Kyiv agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire over the event, following a last-minute appeal from US President Donald Trump. Moscow had threatened a \u201cmassive\u201d strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the proceedings.
\nIn an address to the parade, attended by Russian military units as well as soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the Soviet victory to rally support for his army in Ukraine.
\n\u201cThe great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,\u201d Putin said.
\n\u201cThey are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire Nato bloc. And despite this, our heroes move forward,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI firmly believe that our cause is just,\u201d he added later.
\nThree-day ceasefire
\nAfter two failed attempts at truces this week by both Russia and Ukraine, Trump announced on Friday a three-day ceasefire between both sides would come into effect from May 9.
\n\u201cHopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard-fought War,\u201d Trump posted on his Truth Social network, adding the ceasefire would be accompanied by a prisoner exchange.
\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree on Friday ordering the Ukrainian military not to attack the parade and in a separate statement confirmed his government would adhere to the ceasefire to enable the swap of 1,000 detainees from each warring side.
\n\u201cRed Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home,\u201d Zelensky said, referring to the historic site in the Russian capital where the annual event is held.
\nBoth the Ukrainian air force and Russian defence ministry reported fewer drone attacks overnight.
\nNow in its fifth year, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiralled into Europe\u2019s deadliest since World War II.
\nUS-mediated talks on ending the fighting have shown little progress since February, when Washington shifted focus to its war against Iran.
\nBefore Trump\u2019s announcement on Friday, Zelensky had balked at the idea of a truce over the parade and warned Moscow\u2019s allies against attending.
\nRussia had threatened a massive strike on the heart of Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the commemoration and urged foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of the event.
\nSecurity was tight in the capital before the parade, with AFP reporters seeing empty streets.
\nMobile internet was also disrupted.
\nOnly the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia and Laos, as well as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, were set to attend, in contrast to high-profile visitors including China\u2019s Xi Jinping during last year\u2019s event.
\nZelensky expressed hope on Friday that US envoys would visit Ukraine in the coming weeks to reboot talks on ending the war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Victory Parade address Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks prompted Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize celebrations Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an \u201caggressive force\u201d backed by all of Nato and described his war goals as \u201cjust\u201d, in a combative address to the annual […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-545591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n