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Statements of the Russian president during Victory Day in Red Square
Vladimir Putin declared that Russia will always remain a winner, during the traditional Victory Day military parade in Red Square, held under tight security measures, amid growing fears of Ukrainian attacks and growing war fatigue among Russian public opinion.
Addressing the crowd, the Russian president invoked the sacrifices of World War II to bolster support for soldiers fighting in Ukraine. "The great achievement of the victorious generation inspires the fighters who today carry out the tasks of a special military operation," he said, using the Kremlin's official term for the invasion of Ukraine.
"They stand in front of an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. However, our heroes continue to move forward. Victory has always been and always will be ours," Putin said.
Despite his rhetoric of confidence, this year's parade highlighted a difficult period for the Russian president. Moscow was under tight surveillance on Saturday, with internet services cut off across the city, while Ukraine continued to strike Russian targets with drones and long-range missiles, forcing organizers to forgo the traditional grandeur of the ceremony.
Only in the last few hours did it become clear that Ukraine would not interrupt the activities. On the eve of the parade, US President Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day ceasefire and a prisoner exchange.
The traditional display of missiles and armored vehicles, an integral part of the parade since 2017, when Putin included heavy weaponry in the ceremony, was completely absent. Instead, guests watched a video showcasing Russia's drone capabilities and the country's nuclear arsenal.
The audience, which included small delegations from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, also saw a unit of North Korean soldiers march through the square. North Korea has become one of Russia's closest allies in recent years, with its troops fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
The parade lasted about 45 minutes, almost half the length of previous years. “It was a modest parade,” pro-Kremlin commentator Sergei Markov wrote on Telegram, adding that “there are still big challenges ahead of us.”
Russian authorities openly admitted that the security measures were designed specifically to protect Putin, an admission that shows how much the reality of a war that Russia once believed it would win within weeks has changed.
Earlier this week, Putin pressed Volodymyr Zelensky for a ceasefire to coincide with the parade. Ukraine initially rejected the proposal, calling it a cynical attempt to protect the celebrations from drone attacks.
Zelensky's response came Friday evening in a decree with ironic undertones: Ukraine, he said, would "allow" Russia to hold the ceremony without attacks, in deference to the US president's request. The ceasefire is expected to last until May 11.
This year's parade was the first to take place since Russia's war in Ukraine has lasted longer than the entire Soviet campaign against Nazi Germany during World War II. Putin has repeatedly tried to link the two conflicts, presenting the invasion of Ukraine as a continuation of the fight against Nazism.
Significantly, this time he was not sitting next to World War II veterans, as in previous years, but was surrounded by soldiers who had fought in Ukraine. With victory nowhere in sight and no clear deadline for ending the war, the climate in Russia is becoming increasingly grim.
Massive internet outages in the weeks leading up to the parade, imposed by security services as a necessary measure, have caused public discontent and negatively affected Putin's popularity.
After years of growth fueled by military spending, the Russian economy is showing signs of pressure. Economic growth has slowed significantly, inflation is rising and weighing on households and businesses, while the budget deficit has reached record levels.
The situation on the front also remains deadlocked, with neither side close to a decisive breakthrough.
Military advances have slowed in recent months, as armies show signs of fatigue and suffer heavy losses, while continuing attacks on the adversary's energy infrastructure.
However, there are no signs that these developments are pushing Putin towards compromise.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media that Moscow sees no basis for a new round of trilateral talks with Ukraine and the US until Ukrainian forces withdraw from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, a condition that Kiev categorically rejects. Ukraine continues to control several strategic cities and fortified positions in Donetsk, defended at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. /Pamphlet/
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