Moscow begins scaled-back Victory Day parade as 3-day Ukraine truce kicks in
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Russia began its annual Victory Day parade on Red Square Saturday, with events set to be scaled back amid security fears and signs of fatigue over the more than four-year Ukraine war. Both Russia and Ukraine agreed to a three-day ceasefire for the occasion, following a last-minute appeal from United States President Donald Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany a central narrative of his 25-year rule, staging massive annual parades in Moscow on May 9, in part to rally the Russian population behind the military offensive in Ukraine. However, a spate of Ukrainian long-range attacks on energy facilities in recent weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize this year’s celebrations, with military hardware set to be absent from the parade for the first time in almost two decades. The parade kicked off shortly after 10am Moscow time (12pm PKT) with a formation of soldiers carrying the Russian flag into the square, state television showed. Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov could be seen congratulating soldiers, including some from the North Korean army. After two failed attempts at truces this week by both Russia and Ukraine, Trump announced on Friday that a three-day ceasefire between both sides would come into effect the following day. “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network, adding the ceasefire would be accompanied by a prisoner exchange. Zelensky issued a decree on Friday ordering the Ukrainian military not to attack the parade and in a separate statement confirmed his government would adhere to the ceasefire to enable the swap of 1,000 detainees from each warring side. “Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home,” Zelensky said, referring to the historic site in the Russian capital where the annual event is held. Smaller-scale celeb