Moscow and Kyiv trade accusations as Russia holds Victory Day spectacle

Russia and Ukraine person accused 1 different of violating a three-day ceasefire arsenic Moscow marked Victory Day by welcoming allies to a expansive subject parade.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin marked the 80th day of triumph implicit Nazi Germany connected Friday alongside China’s Xi Jinping, successful an lawsuit intelligibly intended to bolster enactment for his three-year violative against Ukraine, which helium had unilaterally paused for 72 hours to people the occasion.

“Russia has been and volition stay an indestructible obstruction against Nazism, Russophobia and anti-Semitism,” said Putin, seeking to gully parallels betwixt World War II – oregon the Great Patriotic War arsenic it is named successful Russia and different parts of the erstwhile Soviet Union – and the Ukraine war.

Russia maintains that its February 2022 penetration of its neighbour is simply a conflict against a “Nazi” authorities successful Kyiv. Ukraine has dismissed that assertion arsenic “incomprehensible”.

More than 20 overseas dignitaries, including Xi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, watched the 11,000-strong parade connected Red Square.

The amusement of unit was billed by Moscow arsenic impervious that the state has not been isolated by the war.

Russian servicemen instrumentality portion successful the Victory Day subject parade successful Moscow, Russia, connected May 9, 2025 [Maxim Bogovid/RIA Novosti via AP Photo]

Throughout his quarter-century successful power, Putin has tapped into the nation’s trauma implicit Soviet losses during the Great Patriotic War, which Russia dates arsenic moving from 1941-45.

With the two-year play of 1939-41, during which the Soviets maintained a non-aggression pact, with the Nazis sidelined, Victory Day has been elevated to go the country’s astir important nationalist vacation and a premier lever utilized to whip up patriotism.

Putin appeared to question to transportation that temper to his warfare successful Ukraine.

“The full country, nine and radical enactment the participants of the peculiar subject operation,” helium said successful his code to the parade, which reportedly included 1,500 soldiers who had fought successful Ukraine.

Kyiv argued the parade has “nothing to bash with the triumph implicit Nazism” and that those marching connected Red Square successful a “parade of cynicism” were “quite likely” implicit successful crimes against Ukrainians.

Political theatrics

Amid the pomp and circumstance, information successful Moscow has been tight, with authorities jamming mobile net connections, citing the menace of Ukrainian attacks.

However, Putin’s unilaterally declared May 8-10 ceasefire teetered connected the brink of illness adjacent arsenic the parade opened connected Friday morning, with some Kyiv and Moscow accusing 1 different of attacks.

Ukraine had dismissed Putin’s three-day intermission arsenic governmental theatrics, designed to avert the impatience of the United States – which has been trying to broker a ceasefire – and refused to perpetrate to it, and had spent Tuesday and Wednesday utilizing drones to people Moscow, shutting down its airports for important periods.

Authorities successful Russia’s occidental Belgorod borderline portion said a Ukrainian drone onslaught deed the metropolis assembly gathering connected Friday, adding that nary 1 was injured.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said Ukrainian troops had made attempts to breach the borderline successful the Kursk and Belgorod regions, and claimed Ukraine had violated the ceasefire 5,026 times.

Ukraine claimed that conscionable hours aft the truce entered into effect, Russia had already broken it, with Moscow’s forces launching guided bombs against the bluish Sumy region.

Kyiv reported further attacks connected Friday successful the confederate metropolis of Kherson and the cardinal Dnipropetrovsk region, with 2 radical wounded.

‘Concerted approach’

In a symbolic amusement of enactment for Kyiv to coincide with Friday’s parade, Ukraine’s Western allies backed a peculiar tribunal to prosecute Putin and different elder Russian officials for the transgression of aggression against Ukraine.

Foreign ministers from astir 20 European nations met successful Ukraine’s occidental metropolis of Lviv to motion the “Lviv statement”, a papers paving the mode for the constitution of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which could commencement operating adjacent year.

“We basal for a conscionable and lasting peace, for a unafraid Europe, and for accountability and justice,” said United Kingdom Foreign Minister David Lammy successful a statement.

The aforesaid day, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said a radical of 10 bluish European nations and the UK had agreed to enactment a US connection for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

That tallies with Ukraine’s effect to Putin’s Victory Day ceasefire, which was to question wherefore it would lone tally for 3 days and to telephone for a afloat 30-day truce.

The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) conjugation – which comprises Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK – met successful Oslo connected Friday.

Store said the radical had interaction the nighttime earlier with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sermon the connection and that a “concerted approach” was present being taken.

Diplomatic reset

Trump, who has presented himself arsenic the main mediator successful the struggle betwixt Russia and Ukraine, had initially appeared to tilt towards Moscow aft entering bureau successful January, offering enactment to Russia’s demands.

However, arsenic Moscow has dragged its feet connected agreeing to a ceasefire, the US president has demonstrated increasing impatience with Putin, telling him past period to “stop shooting” and motion a bid deal.

On Thursday, Trump reiterated his telephone for a “30-day unconditional ceasefire,” saying connected his Truth Social web that if the truce was not respected, “the US and its partners volition enforce further sanctions.”

A minerals woody betwixt Kyiv and Washington, ratified by Ukraine’s parliament unanimously connected Wednesday, appears to person helped amended relations.

Trump has approved subject shipments to the state erstwhile more, portion the rhetoric from US officials towards Moscow has shown signs of increasing frustration.

Still, successful the background, Washington has continued to enactment connected a diplomatic reset with Moscow.

On Friday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by Interfax arsenic saying Russia and the US planned different circular of talks aimed astatine getting their respective diplomatic missions afloat operational.