Russia Holds Victory Day Parade in Moscow

Russia held its Victory Day military parade in Red Square on May 9, 2026, without displaying high-end weapon systems or deploying large numbers of military personnel. President Vladimir Putin stated that military equipment was not displayed due to security reasons and because the armed forces must focus on the final defeat of Ukraine.

Screens around Red Square projected images of multiple rocket launchers, fighter jets, tanks and submarines during the 2026 parade.

The subdued display contrasted sharply with the 2025 Victory Day parade, which featured three main battle tanks: the T-72B3M, T-80BVM and T-90M. Only one truly new land vehicle appeared that year, a 4x4 ZA-SpN Titan MRAP platform. The parade proceeded after Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv covering the suspension of all kinetic activity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia continued to fight along the front lines during the ceasefire period. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned Russia for continuing to fight during the ceasefire. Russian officials stated that Russia intercepted dozens of drones flying toward Moscow days before the May 9, 2026 parade.

Ukraine launched Operation Spider’s Web, a multi-faceted drone attack on Russian air assets, in June 2025. Analysts described the scaled-back parade as a signal of vulnerability more than four years into the conflict. Timothy Ash, associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House, called the parade “quite extraordinary” and said it showed “real vulnerability” on the part of Russia.

Natia Seskuria, associate fellow for international security at the Royal United Services Institute, noted that even last year Russia demonstrated a range of new tanks and drones. Separate economic analysis found that sky-high industrial energy costs have wiped £30 billion from UK GDP since 2019. In 2019, UK industrial energy prices were broadly comparable to those on the continent.

Output from the UK’s energy-intensive industries has fallen by 8 per cent since 2019 while the wider UK economy grew by 6 per cent. If the energy-intensive sector had kept pace with the wider economy, UK GDP would have been £30 billion higher in 2025. The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme was recently expanded to 10,000 companies.

The scheme exempts companies from green charges, cutting electricity bills by up to 25 per cent. 2 per cent lower than previously forecast over the next five years. 8 per cent due to the Iran conflict.

3 per cent. UK inflation is set to rise above four per cent by the end of 2026. The first quarter of 2026 is expected to show UK GDP on a fairly promising trajectory before flatlining in the second quarter.

Anna Anthony, EY UK & Ireland Regional Managing Partner, said businesses are grappling with turbulent energy prices, supply chain disruption, inflation and elevated interest rates. Peter Arnold, EY UK chief economist, said despite a relatively strong start to 2026, the conflict in the Middle East means the UK economy is once again being shaped by external shocks and on track for another year of subdued growth.