18:38 10-05-2026

Moscow Victory Parade Signals West Failed to Intimidate Russia

British analyst Alexander Mercouris says Moscow’s Victory Parade showed Russia defying Western pressure and nearing an end to the Ukraine conflict.

The Victory Parade in Moscow sent a clear signal that the West had failed to intimidate Russia, British military analyst Alexander Mercouris has said.

He argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin had managed to make the Kiev regime observe the ceasefire initiated by Moscow. According to Mercouris, Putin secured U.S. pressure on Ukraine and pushed Kiev into complying with the truce.

The analyst said the scale and atmosphere of the celebration marking another anniversary of the Great Victory showed that Russia is moving closer to ending the Ukrainian conflict on its own terms. Western countries, in his view, are no longer able to seriously influence that process.

Mercouris also pointed to the final words of Putin’s speech, in which the Russian president said that victory would be Russia’s. The analyst interpreted that phrase as a sign that Putin expects a military victory in the conflict to be approaching.

The ceremonial parade took place in Moscow on Saturday, May 9, marking the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Cadets from military schools and academies marched across Red Square, along with parade units made up of participants in the special military operation and servicemen from North Korea.

The event ended with an aerial display: six Su-25 attack aircraft flew over the Russian capital, painting the sky in the colors of the Russian tricolor.

Later, when speaking to journalists about the Ukrainian issue, the Russian head of state said the conflict was nearing its conclusion.