'Victory will be ours,' Putin tells Victory Day parade without any tanks

Prefer on Google by Asami Terajima Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in central Moscow on May 9, 2026 (Alexander NEMENOV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images) Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted "victory will be ours" during his speech to mark Victory Day on May 9, addressing a parade lacking any military equipment due to Moscow's changing fortunes in the war in Ukraine. Putin's speech comes more than four years into the Russian all-out war on Ukraine, where his troops are struggling to make notable gains on the battlefield despite the constant mass casualties . The decision to not show off any military hardware at the parade this year was made in large part because of the threat of Ukraine's increasingly effective long-range drones. A greatest hits compilation of Russia's most modern military hardware was shown on a video displayed on screens at the event. Regardless, Putin tried to put on a brave face. "Victory has always been ours, and it always will be!" Putin said at the end of the speech, which was dominated by historical monologues and rarely touched on the war in Ukraine. Addressing Russian citizens, including soldiers and commanders in Russia's war against Ukraine, Putin commemorated the 81st anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany during the parade, which has held immense significance for the Kremlin for decades. The parade followed a May 8 tongue-in-cheek official decree from President Zelensky , in which he said he would "allow a parade to be held in Moscow." "For the duration of the parade (beginning at 10:00 a.m. Kyiv time on May 9, 2026), the area of Red Square shall be excluded from the plan for the use of Ukrainian weapons," the declaration reads. It also includes the precise coordinates of Moscow's Red Square. U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8 announced a surprise prisoner exchange and three-day ceasefire in Russia's war against Ukraine from May 9-11 amid mounting tensions between Kyiv and Moscow on the eve of Russia's Victory Day celebrations. The evening of May 8-9 marked one of the quietest nights throughout the war, with the Air Force only reporting that Russia launched 43 drones overnight, of which 34 were downed by the Ukrainian air defense. It is unclear if the Russian drones were launched before or after midnight.