Russia holds downsized Victory Day parade

Putin invoked the Soviet victory in World War II to rally his army in Ukraine, saying ‘our heroes move forward’.Russia has held its annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany during the second world war.The parade, scaled back this year due to security concerns, started at about 10am (07:00 GMT) in Red Square, with a military formation bearing the Russian flag.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Russia, Ukraine trade fire, blame despite Victory Day ceasefirelist 2 of 3Amid Ukraine’s daring assaults, Russia scales back Victory Day celebrationslist 3 of 3Russia cuts mobile internet in Moscow citing drone security concernsend of listSecurity was tight as President Vladimir Putin spoke at the event, viewed as Russia’s most significant secular holiday.“Victory has always been and will be ours,” said Putin, as columns of troops lined up on the square. “The key to success is our moral strength, courage and valour, our unity and ability to endure anything and overcome any challenge.”Putin, in power for more than a quarter-century, has regularly used Victory Day to showcase the country’s military might and rally support for his war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year. But this year, for the first time in nearly 20 years, the parade took place without tanks, missiles and other heavy weapons, aside from a traditional flyover of combat jets.Instead, the 45-minute parade showed a video of Russian military equipment deployed to Ukraine, said Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow. She said there is an understanding that “tanks are needed at the [military] front, not at the parade”.Officials said the event’s change of format was due to the “current operational situation” and pointed to the threat of Ukrainian attacks. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the authorities have taken “additional security measures”.United States President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to his request for a ceasefire running from Saturday through Monday and an exchange of prisoners, declaring that the break in fighting could be the “beginning of the end” of the war.