A three-day ceasefire, a decree for Putin, not a single tank. The most unusual May 9 on Red Square in two decades

Vladimir Putin will appear on Red Square this morning during a parade that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ironically “allowed” by decree 374/2026, including the square’s coordinates. For the first time in almost two decades, Moscow prepared it without tanks, missiles or armored vehicles, and after Trump’s announcement it is accompanied by a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Moscow as the only politician from an EU country. After being denied overflight through Poland and the Baltics, the Slovak aircraft had to fly via Czechia, Germany, Sweden and Finland. According to Bratislava, however, he will not attend the parade itself.

Trump’s three-day ceasefire, exchange of 1,000 prisoners

On the evening of Friday, May 8, the American president announced on the Truth Social network an agreement on a three-day ceasefire covering May 9, 10 and 11 — “all kinetic activities” are to be suspended and an exchange of 1,000 prisoners on each side is to take place. AP ↗ Bloomberg ↗ The agreement followed an earlier phone call between Trump and Putin — for Russia it was confirmed by Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov, and for Ukraine by Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X. Al Jazeera ↗ Spiegel ↗ Trump described the agreement as “the beginning of the end of a very long, bloody and difficult war” and asked that it last longer than three days. iROZHLAS ↗

Originally, the initiative was supposed to have a substantially smaller scope: on May 4, the Russian Defense Ministry announced a unilateral ceasefire for May 8 and 9 — Trump’s agreement shifted it into the May 9 to 11 framework and added the prisoner exchange. CBS News ↗ Euronews ↗ The Kremlin, however, warned one day before it began that if Ukraine disrupted the 81st anniversary celebrations, it would respond with a “massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv”. Pravda ↗

Decree 374/2026: Zelenskyy “allows” the Russians to hold the parade

Several hours before Trump’s announcement, Zelenskyy issued a decree that formally ordered the Ukrainian army to exclude the territory of Red Square from the plan for deploying Ukrainian weapons from 10:00 Kyiv time. The document included exact GPS coordinates. TASR ↗ The Ukrainian president also published a symbolic version on social media with the deliberately formal opening “To allow the holding of a military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2026” — an ironic message to the Kremlin that Putin’s reduced parade can take place only because Kyiv itself agreed to it. Pravda ↗

In his reasoning, Zelenskyy said that “humanitarian issues and the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war are more important to Ukraine than Red Square in Moscow”. Shortly before that, in his evening address on May 7, he said the Russians “want permission from Ukraine so that once a year they can march on the square for an hour — and then return to killing our people”. Kyiv Independent ↗

For the first time in almost two decades without heavy equipment

In late April, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that this year it would not use a “column of military equipment” in the parade — no tanks, missiles or armored personnel carriers — because the “current operational situation” does not allow it. The Moscow Times ↗ According to AP, a mobile column had appeared on Red Square during the annual parade since 2008. AP ↗ Last year, on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, thousands of soldiers passed through Red Square together with dozens of new tanks and drones, while Chinese President Xi Jinping and more than twenty other world leaders sat in the stands.

BBC Russia editor Steve Rosenberg drew a sharp assessment from this in a field report: “The way the Kremlin commemorates the past says a lot about the present — it is a sign that Putin’s war in Ukraine is not going according to plan.” Russian lawmaker Yevgeny Popov replied to him: “Our tanks are busy at the moment. They are fighting. We need them on the battlefield more than on Red Square.” Rosenberg, however, confronted him with the question of whether, in the fifth year of the war, that was “not embarrassing”. BBC via Yahoo ↗

Ukrainian analysts add that, in addition to losses of equipment in combat, it was “logistically difficult” to move it to Moscow during active fighting, and the capital’s air defense is “insufficient”. Kyiv Independent ↗ Instead of a column of equipment, an aerobatic formation and Su-25 attack aircraft will fly over the city, drawing the Russian national colors in the sky.

In a short report on the eve of the parade, BBC News summarized how Moscow reformatted the 81st anniversary celebrations and what warning Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent to foreign leaders.



In the speech itself, according to the BBC and Slovak and Czech media, Putin described the North Atlantic Alliance as the “real enemy”. He said Russian soldiers in Ukraine are not fighting directly against Ukraine, but “against an aggressive force supported by NATO”, and that the army is “heroically moving forward”. The speech lasted about ten minutes and is among his shortest May 9 speeches in 26 years in power. BBC News ↗ Pravda ↗ Novinky ↗

Lukashenko, Laos, Malaysia. Not Xi Jinping

Of the more than thirty world leaders who accepted the invitation last year, only a handful remained in 2026. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim, the leaders of two separatist regions of Georgia — Abkhazia and South Ossetia — and a delegation from Republika Srpska with former president Milorad Dodik are expected to sit alongside Putin. Euronews ↗

Xi Jinping was not on the published guest list. The presidents of Central Asian states were also absent from the Kremlin’s originally announced list. The most symbolic absence was that of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who stayed in Yerevan for a meeting of the European Political Community — where Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke. Euronews ↗ Russia also made independent monitoring of the list more difficult — in early May it revoked the accreditations of foreign journalists who were supposed to cover the parade. Meduza ↗

Slovak prime minister: “black sheep”, messages and Druzhba

As the only politician from an EU country, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Moscow on Friday evening. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland refused to allow the Slovak government aircraft to overfly their territory, so it flew in an arc through Czech, German, Swedish and Finnish airspace — extending the journey to roughly four hours. Kyiv Independent ↗

At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden on Friday evening, Fico said that the nations of the former USSR “paid the highest price in the fight against fascism”. In a short address, he described himself with the words: “I am an opponent of the only mandatory opinion. I often express views that do not correspond to the only correct political position. Sometimes I even fight over historical facts.” He added that he is “an absolute supporter of any form of ceasefire” and expressed his belief that “we are approaching the end of the Russian-Ukrainian story”. Info.sk ↗ Briefly speaking to the media upon landing, he said: “I am the black sheep in the European Union.”

According to the Kremlin, Saturday’s meeting with Putin is to include bilateral cooperation, the international agenda and especially energy. Ushakov noted that Russia “remains a reliable energy supplier”, and that topics will include Gazprom’s long-term contracts with Slovenský plynárenský priemysel and oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline via Transneft and Transpetrol. Pravda ↗ The Slovak Foreign Ministry confirmed that Fico will not attend the parade on Red Square itself. According to Bratislava, he is to convey messages between Putin and Zelenskyy. Kyiv Independent ↗

After the parade ended, Fico did indeed meet Putin outside Red Square. Slovak and Russian media confirmed the meeting shortly after noon; Fico did not attend the military parade. ta3 ↗ HN ↗

Upon arriving at the Kremlin, Fico was welcomed by a red carpet, an honor guard and an orchestra. “I know there were certain problems with your journey to Moscow. The important thing, however, is that you are here,” Putin said at the start of the talks. On the Russian side sat Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak — a line-up confirming that the agenda covers not only gas and Druzhba, but also the nuclear sector. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted before the reception that there had “not been many opportunities” to deliver the message from Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Fico was supposed to convey, according to Bratislava. Pravda ↗ Standard ↗

During the talks themselves, Putin said Russia sees “the confrontational line that the EU and NATO are imposing on all of us”, and noted that Russian-Slovak relations had “for many years been characterized by a high level of political dialogue”. Fico replied: “History connects us immensely. I do not allow historical facts to be distorted” and spoke of a “sovereign Slovak policy”. The most concrete result of the talks was Putin’s confirmation that Rosatom is ready to take part in the “construction of nuclear power plant units in Slovakia” — this explains why Rosatom chief Likhachev was also seated on the Russian side. TASR/teraz.sk ↗

The Baltics: 12,000 NATO soldiers, airspace closed

The Baltics are accompanying May 9 with record allied exercises. On May 4, Estonia launched the Spring Storm 2026 maneuver, which will last until June 1 and at its peak will involve more than 12,000 soldiers from seventeen countries, including the US, Great Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Poland and Ukraine. Estonian Defence Forces ↗ Command stressed that it had deliberately incorporated lessons from the Ukrainian war and the massive deployment of unmanned systems into the scenarios.

At the same time, Lithuania launched the Iron Wolf 2026 exercise with 2,500 soldiers and 300 pieces of equipment from the British and Polish contingents, while Latvia launched the Crystal Arrow and Spring Warrior maneuvers with roughly another five thousand soldiers. Militarnyi ↗

Internet switched off, Pantsirs on rooftops, Putin’s security tightened

To minimize the risk of Ukrainian drones before the parade, the Kremlin adopted unprecedented security measures. In Moscow and several other major Russian centers, widespread mobile internet outages were recorded during the past week; for May 9, the authorities plan to shut it off completely in the capital. Pantsir-S1 air defense systems stand on the roofs of government buildings, and intense layers of defense have been deployed around Red Square. Kyiv Independent ↗

According to CNN, which cites a classified report by a European intelligence service, Putin himself sharply tightened personal security protocols from March 2026 — visitors undergo double checks, his closest staff are monitored by cameras at home and are banned from using means of transport or devices connected to the internet. According to the report, the Kremlin fears a drone assassination attempt or a conspiracy by Russian elites. CNN ↗ OCCRP ↗

Meanwhile, Russia completely canceled Victory Day celebrations in occupied Crimea, officially because of “security concerns”. Kyiv Independent ↗

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