Scaled-back Victory Day parade held in Moscow

Russia held a scaled-back Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square on May 9, citing Ukrainian attack threats, featuring no tanks or heavy military hardware but instead displaying weapons systems on screens while North Korean troops marched alongside Russian soldiers. President Putin, in an eight-minute address, pledged victory in Ukraine's war—which he framed as a "special military operation"—stating Russian forces confront NATO-backed aggression despite battlefield stalemate more than four years into the conflict.