{"id":3932,"date":"2026-05-09T16:07:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3932"},"modified":"2026-05-09T16:07:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:07:31","slug":"putin-says-russian-forces-battling-nato-backed-aggression-in-victory-day-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3932","title":{"rendered":"Putin Says Russian Forces Battling Nato-Backed Aggression in Victory Day Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MOSCOW: <\/strong>Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russian soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an \u201caggressive force\u201d backed by all of NATO, adding that his war objectives remained \u201cjust\u201d, during his address at the annual Victory Day parade on Moscow\u2019s Red Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin has long used the memory of the Soviet Union\u2019s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II as a key theme of his 25-year rule, with authorities traditionally marking the occasion through large-scale military displays and celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this year\u2019s event was significantly scaled down following a series of Ukrainian long-range attacks in recent weeks, which led the Kremlin to increase security measures and reduce the scale of the festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time in nearly two decades, no military hardware was displayed at the parade, and attendance by foreign dignitaries was limited, with most participants being leaders from Russia\u2019s close allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire during the event following a last-minute appeal from US President Donald Trump. Russia had also warned of a \u201cmassive\u201d strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the parade, which included Russian military personnel as well as soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the Soviet victory to encourage support for the ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And despite this, our heroes move forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI firmly believe that our cause is just,\u201d he said later in his speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After two failed attempts at ceasefires earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump announced on Friday a three-day truce between Russia and Ukraine, which came into effect on May 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard-fought War,\u201d Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that the ceasefire would also include a prisoner exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree on Friday instructing Ukrainian forces not to target the parade, and later confirmed that Ukraine would observe the ceasefire to facilitate the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRed Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home,\u201d Zelenskyy said, referring to the historic site in Moscow where the parade was held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both the Ukrainian air force and Russia\u2019s defence ministry reported reduced drone activity overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in its fifth year, the war has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and is considered Europe\u2019s deadliest conflict since World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US-mediated peace talks have made little progress since February, when Washington shifted its focus to tensions involving Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Trump\u2019s ceasefire announcement, Zelenskyy had rejected the idea of a truce tied to the parade and warned Russia\u2019s allies against attending the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia had also threatened a major strike on Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the commemorations, urging foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of the parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security in Kyiv was tightened ahead of the event, with empty streets reported by AFP journalists and mobile internet disruptions also noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only leaders from Belarus, Malaysia, and Laos, along with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, were expected to attend, in contrast to previous years when high-profile figures such as China\u2019s Xi Jinping were present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zelenskyy also expressed hope that US envoys would visit Ukraine in the coming weeks to restart diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Russian soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an \u201caggressive force\u201d backed by all of NATO, adding that his war objectives remained \u201cjust\u201d,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[282,1343,72],"class_list":["post-3932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-russia","tag-russia-ukraine-conflict","tag-vladimir-putin"],"yoast_head":"\nPutin Says Russian Forces Battling Nato-Backed Aggression in Victory Day Speech - World Watch Alert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces are fighting a NATO-backed \u201caggressive force\u201d in Ukraine during a scaled-down Victory Day parade in Moscow, while reaffirming his war goals as \u201cjust.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=3932\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Putin Says Russian Forces Battling Nato-Backed Aggression in Victory Day Speech - 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