On The Eve Of May 9, Russia Is In Turmoil
- 5.05.2026, 15:47
Internet blackouts, machine gunners on the Kremlin towers and mounted patrols.
Moscow continues to actively prepare for what it habitually calls the "victory parade", although every year the event looks more and more like a dull corporate party at a budget institution, writes New Voice.
This year, preparations for May 9 are being made in an atmosphere of heightened tension and significant restrictions. Officially, this is explained by the "threat of terrorist attacks."
The main feature of the parade on Red Square will be the almost complete absence of military equipment, according to the Russian media. The Russian Defense Ministry said that only servicemen from higher educational institutions will take part in the parade. Traditional mechanized columns, in particular tanks and missile systems, are excluded from the program because of the "operational situation."
The preparation directly in the Russian capital is accompanied by non-standard measures that resemble "martial law" more than a holiday. Moscow is discussing the possibility of a complete shutdown of mobile communications on May 5, 7 and 9, although mobile Internet failures in Moscow, St. Petersburg and several other cities are already being reported. Local residents are complaining of outages, including for users of so-called "white lists".
Internet problems in Moscow may be linked to increased security measures around Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, the Financial Times notes. The Kremlin has sharply increased security for the Russian leader for fear of a possible assassination attempt.
It is reported that along with mobile internet, SMS messages will also be cut off.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, has placed armed soldiers on towers and buildings, and set up roadblocks at entrances to Moscow, The Moscow Times reports.
The media also reported that this year there were no traditional large-scale rehearsals at the Alabino training ground, which is abnormal for such events, Russian bloggers wrote and the BBC said.
At least 10 cities and eight regions have completely canceled parades and fireworks. In particular, the Krasnodar region completely canceled the ceremonial passage of troops, and the "Immortal Regiment" action was transferred to an online format.
Analogous decisions were made in Kaliningrad and Samara. In St. Petersburg, Chuvashia and Kaluga region, parades are planned to be held without military equipment, including the traditional passage of the T-34 tank.
It became known earlier that Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral ceasefire for May 8-9. Russia expects similar steps from Ukraine, although previous practice shows that such declarations are often not honored by the Russian Federation itself.
Simultaneously with the peace offer, the Russian Defense Ministry warned of "massive missile strikes on the center of Kiev" if the events in Moscow are disrupted.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky instead announced "mirror responses" to Russian attacks on Ukraine. "Every day Russia can cease fire, and this will stop the war and our responses. Peace is needed, and this requires real steps. Ukraine will act in a mirror way," he said
According to intelligence and guerrilla movement ATESH, Russian commanders are withdrawing some combat-ready units from the front line to take part in the parade, causing discontent among the Russian military on the ground.