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Army Is Fighting 'Aggressive' NATO-Backed Force in Victory Day Speech: Russian President Putin
Putin cast the war as a fight against NATO support for Ukraine as Russia held a scaled-back Victory Day parade and prepared a prisoner swap.
On Saturday, May 9, 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the annual Victory Day parade on Red Square, describing his war goals as "just" while claiming soldiers confront an "aggressive force" backed by NATO.
Following two failed attempts at truces earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a three-day ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv that took effect Saturday.
Authorities scaled back the parade, displaying no military hardware for the first time in nearly two decades and hosting only a handful of dignitaries such as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Stating "Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered his military not to attack the parade.
Zelensky expressed hope that U.S. envoys will visit Ukraine in the coming weeks to reboot peace talks, though the war continues in its fifth year as Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
The leader of the Kremlin slammed on Saturday the "aggressive" forces supported by NATO that the Russian army faced in Ukraine, during the commemorations of 9 May 1945 in Moscow. The day before, a three-day ceasefire was announced by Donald Trump and accepted by the belligerents.