Victory Day, Russia’s most symbolically charged national holiday, is unfolding under an unusually tense atmosphere in 2025. For the fourth consecutive year under President Vladimir Putin, Moscow’s iconic military parade on May 9 will proceed without high-level foreign guests and amid heightened security concerns.
Ukraine has issued a stark warning to world leaders considering attendance. “Our position is very simple for all countries travelling to Russia on 9 May: we cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
“They are responsible for your safety. We will not provide any guarantees, because we do not know what Russia might do on those dates.”
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Zelenskyy’s comments triggered diplomatic friction, particularly with Slovakia. Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his pro-Moscow stance, publicly criticised the warning. “I reject such threats for security reasons,” he said.
“I fully respect that the safety of participants is an internal matter of the Russian Federation. But if Mr. Zelenskyy believes that his statements will force foreign delegations not to come, then he is deeply mistaken.”
Despite his words, Fico’s attendance remains uncertain following the cancellation of recent public appearances. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, another planned attendee, returned home early from a U.S. trip due to illness and hospitalisation in Belgrade.
Both leaders were the only European heads of state to confirm participation, drawing strong criticism from the EU. Brussels warned that Vučić’s attendance could damage Serbia’s EU accession prospects.
China’s President Xi Jinping, however, is expected to attend. The Kremlin announced that Xi would visit Russia from May 7 to 10, joining celebrations marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Drone Strikes and Cancelled Parades: Moscow on High Alert
Security fears are shaping this year’s Victory Day like never before. Moscow has been the target of repeated drone attacks in recent months.
On Monday, just days before the parade, authorities reported intercepting four drones near the capital. No injuries or damage were reported, but the timing has amplified existing anxieties.
This follows a larger drone offensive in March, where more than 70 Ukrainian drones were reportedly downed by Russian air defences. According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s long-range drones can now reach targets up to 3,000 kilometres away—an assertion that underscores the changing nature of the war.
In response to the growing threat, Russia cancelled the traditional Victory Day parade in the occupied Crimean port city of Sevastopol.
Moscow’s proxy governor cited safety risks, a move prompted by a recent Ukrainian sea drone attack that destroyed a Russian Su-30 fighter jet near Novorossiysk. Ukraine’s military intelligence described the mission as “an unprecedented operation,” marking the first time a sea drone successfully downed a warplane.
This is the third year in a row Sevastopol’s parade has been scrapped, with the last one held in 2022, just months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Putin’s proposed three-day ceasefire (May 7–9) was flatly rejected by Kyiv. Zelenskyy dismissed the offer as a “theatrical performance” meant to improve Russia’s international image during the festivities. “They kill until (May) 7th, pause for a couple of comfortable days, then start attacking again on the 11th,” he said.
Victory Day: The Core of Putin’s Nationalist Narrative
More than just a commemorative event, Victory Day has evolved into a potent symbol of Russian nationalism under Vladimir Putin. Celebrated annually on May 9, the day marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany—but in recent years, it has been increasingly used to legitimize the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin draws deliberate parallels between World War II and its current military campaign, repurposing slogans like “We can do it again” and reviving the orange-and-black St. George’s ribbon—once a WWII symbol, now widely associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s war rhetoric also mirrors the language of WWII. Just as that conflict is known in Russia as “The Great Patriotic War,” the invasion of Ukraine is officially dubbed a “special military operation.”
Putin has frequently invoked “denazification” and the fight against “fascism” to justify the war, claims widely discredited internationally and unsupported by evidence.
In contrast, Ukraine has taken deliberate steps to break from Soviet-era commemorations. In 2023, President Zelenskyy signed a law aligning Ukraine’s WWII remembrance with the rest of Europe, moving it to May 8.
The term “pobedobesie”, loosely translated as “victory mania,” has emerged in Russia to describe the Kremlin’s increasingly exaggerated and ideologically driven observance of the day.
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