Overview
- The Defense Ministry said the May 9 event will feature marching detachments and a Su-25 flyover, with tanks, missile systems, and cadets left out.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov blamed what he called Ukrainian terrorist activity and said the goal is to cut risk to people and equipment.
- Independent analyst Ruslan Leviev said vehicle columns parked for rehearsals on open training grounds outside Moscow would be easy targets for long‑range drones.
- Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia have grown, with recent hits on oil sites in Tuapse and the Perm region underscoring the threat to exposed formations.
- This will be the first Victory Day in nearly 20 years without hardware on Red Square, a scaled‑back display that some critics link to possible equipment losses.