Russia Victory Day 2026 — Scaled-Back Parade, North Korean Troops March on Red Square

Russia held a significantly scaled-back Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9, 2026, marking the 81st anniversary of Soviet VE Day. The parade — lasting approximately 45 minutes — was the shortest in recent memory and featured no tanks, missiles, or heavy military hardware, a first since 2008, due to the threat of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes. Pre-recorded footage described as frontline imagery from Russia's war in Ukraine was displayed on screens in Red Square. The most striking feature of the parade was the first-ever march of a column of North Korean troops who had fought in Russia's Kursk region — a highly visible tribute to Pyongyang's military contribution to Russia's war effort. Neither North Korean leader Kim Jong Un nor Chinese President Xi Jinping (who had attended in 2025) were present. President Vladimir Putin's speech declared 'victory will be ours,' drawing explicit parallels between the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and Russia's ongoing 'special military operation' in Ukraine. He characterized Russian troops as 'confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc.' The parade took place under a US-brokered temporary ceasefire: Ukraine agreed not to strike the Moscow parade in exchange for the release of 1,000 prisoners of war per side; Ukrainian President Zelensky separately signed a decree sarcastically granting Russia 'permission' to hold the event. The deliberate parallels between the 1945 Nazi defeat and the Ukraine conflict drew sharp criticism from Ukrainian and Western officials, who argued that the Kremlin had weaponized WWII memory to legitimize aggression.