Russia Scales Back Moscow Victory Day Parade on 9 May
Russia will scale back the Moscow Victory Day Parade in Moscow on 9 May after saying a terrorist threat from Ukraine has forced tighter security. The parade will still take place on Red Square, but the annual display will omit military vehicles and cadets this year.
Dmitry Peskov on the threat
Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday that Russia was taking steps to reduce the risk. He said: “All measures are being taken to minimise the danger.” Peskov also said: “the Kyiv regime, which is losing ground on the battlefield every day, has now launched into full-scale terrorist activity” and added: “Therefore, given this terrorist threat, all measures are, of course, being taken to minimise the danger.”
The Russian military said the commemorations would not feature military vehicles or cadets because of the current operational situation. The parade will still include representatives of all branches of Russia's armed forces and a colourful fly-past, but cadets from Suvorov military schools, Nakhimov schools, cadet corps, and a column of military equipment will not take part.
Red Square without armour
This will be the first time since the invasion of Ukraine that armoured columns will not roll across Red Square. Putin revived the Soviet practice of parading heavy military hardware there in 2008, and last year more than 20 world leaders attended commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in 1945, alongside tanks, drones, and other modern armoury.
That change is a sharp break from the format that has become part of Russia's modern Victory Day staging. Footage of Russian military personnel carrying out tasks in the special military operation zone will still be shown on national TV, keeping the day tied to the war narrative even as the parade itself is stripped back.
Moscow security restrictions
The scale-back comes after Ukraine intensified strikes deep inside Russia, which Kyiv says target legitimate military sites and Moscow says hit civilians in Ukraine. Earlier this month, pro-Kremlin military bloggers wrote about a growing threat of Ukrainian long-range aerial attacks, and pro-war commentators noted the absence of the usual rehearsals that normally bring major road closures in central Moscow.
A telecoms source told Russian that more powerful restrictions on mobile communications would be imposed in Moscow on 5 May, 7 May, and 9 May. Mobile internet services were severely disrupted in the centre of Moscow in March, and authorities linked those disruptions to security reasons. For residents and visitors in the capital, the tighter controls mean the parade will be visible not just as a ceremonial change, but as part of a broader security lockdown around one of Russia's most closely watched state events.
