Russia Scales Back Victory Day Parade Over Security Threat

Russia will scale back its annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow on 9 May, citing security concerns linked to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has said. Officials said the ceremony on Red Square will still take place but will be held without some traditional elements, including armoured vehicles and cadets from military academies.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the decision was taken because of what Moscow described as a “terrorist threat” from Ukraine.

“All measures are being taken to minimise the danger,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Russia’s defence ministry later confirmed that the parade would not include columns of military equipment or cadets from the Suvorov military schools, Nakhimov naval schools and other cadet corps.

Security concerns cited

Despite the changes, the ceremony marking the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two will still go ahead in Moscow’s Red Square, featuring representatives from different branches of the armed forces and a military fly-past.

The ministry also said television broadcasts would include footage of Russian troops operating in what Moscow calls the “special military operation zone” — the official term used by Russia to describe its invasion of Ukraine.

Changes to a symbolic event

Victory Day celebrations have long been a key state event in Russia, commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

President Vladimir Putin revived the large-scale display of heavy military hardware on Red Square in 2008, presenting the parade as a demonstration of the country’s growing defence capabilities.

Last year’s commemorations were particularly elaborate, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe. More than 20 world leaders attended ceremonies in Moscow, which featured modern weaponry including tanks and drones.

While Russia has altered the format of parades in recent years, this will be the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that armoured vehicles will not appear on Red Square.

Growing fears of attacks

Reports that this year’s parade could be reduced first circulated on Russian social media earlier in April. Several pro-Kremlin military bloggers suggested officials were concerned about the possibility of long-range Ukrainian drone or missile strikes.

One blogger, Ilya Tumanov, told Russian media that a missile warning during the parade would be damaging for the country’s image even if no strike occurred.

Other pro-war commentators also noted that the usual large-scale rehearsals — which typically involve extensive road closures in central Moscow — had not taken place.

Authorities are also expected to tighten security measures around the event. A telecommunications source told BBC Russian that stronger restrictions on mobile communications will be imposed in Moscow on 5, 7 and 9 May.

Mobile internet services in the centre of the city were previously disrupted in March, which officials linked to security measures.

Ukraine intensifies strikes inside Russia

The security concerns follow a rise in Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russian territory, more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Kyiv says its operations target military and energy infrastructure used to support Russia’s war effort.

In recent days, Ukrainian officials reported a drone strike on an oil pumping station near the city of Perm, about 1,500km from the Ukrainian border. Local authorities described the site only as an industrial facility.

Another strike earlier in the week hit a major oil refinery in the Black Sea port of Tuapse for the third time this month. Previous attacks there reportedly caused an oil spill into the sea, with residents describing “black rain” that left oily residue across the city.

Ukraine has not responded publicly to Moscow’s accusations of terrorism. However, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, recently ruled out the possibility of an attack on the Victory Day parade itself, noting that many civilians attend the event.

War shapes national narrative

Many analysts say the legacy of World War Two — known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War — remains central to the country’s national identity and to the political messaging of the Kremlin.

For the Russian leadership, the annual Victory Day parade is both a commemoration of past sacrifices and a demonstration of military strength.

But this year’s scaled-down event highlights how the ongoing war in Ukraine is reshaping even Russia’s most symbolic national ceremonies.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 30 April 2026