Russia’s annual Victory Parade begins in Red Square
Russia’s annual military parade celebrating the allies’ victory over Nazi Germany in the second world war has begun in Red Square.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, the event – typically a bombastic show of military strength – will take place without a display of tanks and ballistic missiles over fears of a long-range attack by Ukrainian drones.
Here are some images of the parade coming in over the wires:
Key events
Morning opening: Three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine begins
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Europe.
A three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine kicks off today that will include “a suspension of all “kinetic activity” and a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country. Though it was first announced by Donald Trump on social media, it has since been confirmed by both sides.
Russia had previously announced a ceasefire to mark its 9 May second world war Victory Day, which Ukraine had previously lambasted after Moscow intensified attacks with a series of devastating bombings of busy urban areas this week, in spite of a unilateral 24-hour ceasefire called by Volodymyr Zelenskyy in exchange for the Victory Day ceasefire.
Zelenskyy wrote on X on Friday:
In recent days, there have been many appeals and signals regarding the setup for tomorrow in Moscow in connection with our Ukrainian long-range sanctions. The principle of symmetry in our actions is well known and has been clearly communicated to the Russian side.
An additional argument for Ukraine in determining our position has always been the resolution of one of the key humanitarian issues of this war – namely, the release of prisoners of war. Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be brought home.
Elsewhere, the UK’s newly elected MPs are scheduled to take their oaths in Parliament this morning and Péter Magyar is set to be inaugurated in Hungary. Plus, the Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer will be bringing us scenes from the Russian victory parade.
Stay tuned for more.