The Daily Populous Sunday May 10th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by inews.co.uk and submitted by theipaper

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Russia marked its yearly May Day parade with a vastly more scaled-back edition amid fears of a possible Ukrainian attack.

The annual Victory Day parade, which marks the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany, normally represents an opportunity for the superpower to make a show of strength, but this year’s celebrations have been uncharacteristically small.

In the days leading up to the event, one of Vladimir Putin’s most important dates in the calendar, there had been fears Ukraine would launch an attack, forcing Moscow to scale back celebrations in the city and across the country.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the parade in Moscow’s Red Square featured no military hardware, just soldiers, leaving some to wonder whether Russia’s four-year-long war with Ukraine is starting to take its toll.

In previous years, a number of tanks and armoured vehicles were used, but not this year.

The shortest May 9 "Victory" Parade at Red Square in Moscow just ended, it lasted only 45 minutes.

During the event, they also showed videos of equipment that wasn't present at the parade, including drones. pic.twitter.com/1TjYs5nm5y — MoloMonitor 🇮🇹 (@MoloWarMonitor) May 9, 2026

Russian MP Yevgeny Popov told the BBC: “Our tanks are busy right now.

“They are fighting. We need them more on the battlefield than on Red Square.”

On 13 January, the war marked a landmark milestone – the Ukraine war has officially outlasted the fighting between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

Two years ago, Russia had also showcased its Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, which was also not showcased at Saturday’s parade.

Instead, the only vehicles on show were the cars of Defence minister Andrei Belousov and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces, Col. Gen. Andrei Mordvichev, who inspected the troops.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the parade in Moscow’s Red Square featured no military hardware, just soldiers (Photo: Kremlin Media/Reuters)

Security measures are taken as Russian troops units gather to participate in the military parade marking the 81st anniversary of Victory Day in Moscow (Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu)

Replacing the usual displays of military might at the parade was a video showcasing Russia’s drone capabilities and nuclear arsenal.

More present than Russia’s military might were a number of security officials tasked with protecting the immediate area.

Such was the threat, reports claimed Moscow had shut down mobile internet coverage.

Last Monday, a Ukrainian drone managed to penetrate Moscow’s air defences and strike a luxury high-rise apartment four miles (6km) from the Kremlin.

There were no casualties from this attack, but the threat of Ukrainian drones over the Red Square has forced Russia to pare back the celebrations, which were the shortest they’ve ever been at just 45 minutes and featured no tanks for the first time since 2008.

There have also been continued attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, including a refinery in Tuapse on the Black Sea coast.

The event in Moscow normally represents an opportunity for the superpower to make a show of strength (Photo: Maxim Shipenkov/AP)

There have been fears that Ukraine would launch an attack prior to the grand event on Saturday in Moscow (Photo by Pavel Bednyakov/AFP)

In a move to indicate Ukraine’s growing dominance, President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree to allow the parade to go ahead and confirmed Red Square would be excluded from “the plan for the use of Ukrainian weapons”.

The document also listed the exact coordinates of the Red Square. Donald Trump later announced a ceasefire between the two sides.

While victory against Ukraine has not been reached, John Foreman, former defence attaché to Moscow and Kyiv, said the failure to secure victory has been a major blow to Putin.

Foreman told The i Paper: “Victory over Ukraine is elusive. The death toll keeps rising, the economy is in tatters, and his [Putin’s] hope that the US would help bring success on his terms have been dashed.”

With the death toll estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands, the Ukraine-Russian war has proven to be one of the deadliest European conflicts since World War Two and Putin’s personal ratings are starting to slide as a result.

Russian law enforcement officers stand guard on an embankment of the Moskva River near St. Basil’s Cathedral before a flypast and a military parade on Victory Day in Moscow (Photo: Marina Lystseva/Reuters)

A Russian military band marches while attending the Victory Day military parade in Moscow (Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Reuters)

“He made himself a hostage to fortune by claiming the mantle of military prowess of his Soviet forefathers,” said Foreman.

“His failure to date, with his own war now lasting longer than the Great Patriotic War [World War Two], reveals him to be a pathetic, diminished figure rooted in the past and out of ideas.”

Ukraine can strike ‘deeper’ and ‘further’ than ever before

World leaders at the parade, which in the past have included former US President George Bush and former prime minister Sir John Major, this year include just two international leaders: Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith and Malaysian Supreme Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor.

Key allies, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping, were not present at the parade, despite both strongly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“The fact it’s been scaled down so dramatically and there were so many fewer foreign guests is definitely something of an embarrassment,” historian Professor Mark Galeotti told The i Paper.

“It doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s going on on the front line, but it speaks to Ukraine’s capacity to reach out and strike deeper and further than ever before.”

Zelensky has claimed Russia has lost at least $7bn (£5bn) since the start of the year, thanks to the attacks on its oil sector.

Satellite imagery shows smoke rising from Tuapse in the southern Krasnodar region of Russia after the town’s oil refinery and shipping terminal were attacked by Ukrainian drones last month (Photo: Vantor/AP)

Galeotti revealed that some European nations have warned Ukraine not to risk the potentially ‘devastating response’ from Russia.

“The Russians have made it very clear that there will be a truly devastating response if there was an attack,” he said.

“For his own credibility, Putin would have to do something particularly devastating if the Ukrainians did try anything.”

Asked the same question, former defence attaché Foreman said: “I don’t expect Ukraine to attack the parade.

“Better to leave Putin to stew in the juice of his own failure in Moscow surrounded by a cast of obscure satraps while continuing to attack military targets elsewhere.”

Bob_Spud on May 10th, 2026 at 08:00 UTC »

What the scale of the Russian Victory Parade tells the rest of the world is, Putin and the Russian military have failed to guarantee the safety of Moscow from Ukraine.

Any-Original-6113 on May 10th, 2026 at 08:00 UTC »

I read the whole article from a Ukrainian source (so obviously biased against the Russians) and couldn't find an answer to the question: Why would Putin want to publicly show such weakness?

The absence of tanks, IFVs, and missile launchers- after so many years of them being a fixture at military parades- is an obvious display of impotence.

You don't need to be an expert to figure that out.

But I'm certain the Russians have far more than 150–200 tanks and IFVs available to parade.

So for some reason, Putin needed this public humiliation.

The question is- why?

theipaper on May 10th, 2026 at 07:29 UTC »

Russia marked its yearly May Day parade with a vastly more scaled-back edition amid fears of a possible Ukrainian attack.

The annual Victory Day parade, which marks the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany, normally represents an opportunity for the superpower to make a show of strength, but this year’s celebrations have been uncharacteristically small.

In the days leading up to the event, one of Vladimir Putin’s most important dates in the calendar, there had been fears Ukraine would launch an attack, forcing Moscow to scale back celebrations in the city and across the country.