By Zahra Ullah, CNN
Moscow (CNN) — For years, Russia’s Victory Day parade has symbolized the country’s military strength and power, with a dazzling display of heavy military equipment and a stream of visiting dignitaries.
This year things will look very different. Russian President Vladimir Putin will host a scaled-back parade in Red Square, with no military hardware on display due to the “current operational situation,” according to the Russian Defense Ministry. There will also be fewer foreign leaders than previous years, and now most international press will have to rely on footage coming from Russian state media to cover the event.
In a sign of heightened security concerns from the Kremlin, many international journalists have been told they won’t be able to attend the parade commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
“Putin likes to look in control and wants the Russian state to look strong, and that is not the message this sends. It sends a message he wouldn’t usually want to send,” said Sam Greene, professor of Russian politics at King’s College London, noting it was “out of character” for the Russian leader.
This year, the Kremlin appears to be prioritizing security over the traditional show of force. The parade takes place amid intensified Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory, particularly on oil refineries. In more of a symbolic blow due to the fact there were no casualties, a drone hit a high-rise apartment building in an upscale neighborhood of western central Moscow on Monday. This has contributed to increased security measures.
Amid the traditional decorations in the red, white and blue of the Russian flag, adorning Moscow’s streets, and the black and orange St. George Ribbon – a symbol of Russia’s military – widely seen in shop windows, anti-aircraft systems are visible around Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied on Friday that international journalists had their accreditation revoked, instead saying the number of journalists who could attend was limited due to the curtailed format of this year’s parade.
“This year, since the entire ceremony is somewhat limited, the number of journalists allowed is also limited,” Peskov said, adding “there has not been a single case of anyone being stripped of their accreditation.”
And yet several international journalists, including CNN, who were accredited to attend the parade, were told by the Kremlin on Thursday that they were no longer able to do so. CNN were told only that the “host broadcasters” would be attending this year’s celebrations.
Unlike the commemorations in 2025 which included China’s Xi Jinping as a guest of honor as well as dozens of other leaders, this year’s invite list is also more conservative with key Putin ally Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith attending. NATO and EU member Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will be in Moscow for a bilateral meeting with Putin but has said he won’t attend the parade.
The clipped parade takes place amid growing concerns in Russia