Moscow’s Victory Day parade draws muted response from Russians

Moscow's annual Victory Day parade drew a cool response from Russians this year. (AFP)

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Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade drew a cool response from Russians this year, some of whom expressed frustration at internet outages and fatigue with the more-than-four-year Ukraine war.

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The parade was vastly scaled back compared to previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades and only a handful of foreign dignitaries in attendance.

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Authorities throttled mobile internet ahead of the commemorations in an attempt to prevent Ukrainian drone strikes, while security around the capital was tightened considerably.

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When asked what she felt on Victory Day, which marks the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, 36-year-old economist Elena replied: “Nothing.”

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“I need the internet, and I don’t have it,” she told AFP from central Moscow, saying she would not watch the parade.

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AFP saw one visitor, Oksana, navigating the capital using a screenshot of a map she had taken.

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“There’s no internet, so I took a photo of the route at home,” she said.

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Tatyana Travina, a 55-year-old lawyer from the western city of Yelets, said she would watch the parade — although she acknowledged it was “very modest” compared to other years.

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She called for an end to the fighting in Ukraine.

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“It’s time to use common sense and for a ceasefire. People are suffering on both sides,” she said of the Ukraine war.

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“A ceasefire is needed … But not just a ceasefire, we need peace,” she added.

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Now in its fifth year, the Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiralled into Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

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Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire starting May 9, which was announced by US President Donald Trump.

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Moscow had threatened a “massive” strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the holiday, which has become Russia’s most important under President Vladimir Putin.

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I’ve seen so many deaths

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US-mediated talks on ending the fighting have shown little progress, and have been sidelined by the US-Israeli war launched against Iran in late February.

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Domestic concerns in Russia have meanwhile mounted, with the economy slowing in recent months and inflation running above target.

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Putin issued a rallying call to Russians at the parade, telling them that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an “aggressive force” backed by all of NATO.

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He described his war goals as “just”, invoking the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany to rally support for the military.

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Some Russians were delighted to watch the parade.

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“I have good feelings about Victory Day because my mother fought, my uncles fought,” said Lidia, 82.

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World War II claimed an estimated 27 million lives across the USSR.