By many accounts Russia's Saturday Victory Day parade and memorial observances in Moscow's Red Square were once again muted and somewhat scaled down compared to the immense pageantry which marked the pre-Ukraine war years.

President Putin used the occasion while speaking in front of thousands of military personnel and flanked by a handful of world leaders to take swipes at NATO and the West, saying he's fighting "just" war and called Ukraine an"aggressive force" that is being "armed and supported by the whole bloc of NATO".

"The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today," Putinsaid. "They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc.And despite this, our heroes move forward." He added:"I firmly believe that our cause is just."

The three-day Ukraine ceasefire announced and backed by President Trump appears to be holding, as no drone attacks have been registered on Moscow or other parts of the country. Large-scale drone waves were coming on a daily basis throughout last week. Massive bombardment of Ukraine has also ceased. Ukraine's Zelensky had reportedly ordered his armed forces to adhere to the shortceasefire:

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree on Friday (May 8)ordering the Ukrainian military not to attack the parade. He also confirmed that his government would adhere to the ceasefire and the prisoner swap of 1,000 detainees from each side.

"Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home," Zelensky said, referring to the historic site in Moscow where the annual event is held.

The Kremlin has over the past days repeatedly warned that Kiev would come under immense bombing if the parade did get attacked, and went so far as to tell foreign diplomats they should evacuate the Ukrainian capital in such a scenario.

Among the foreign leaders that attended Saturday V-DayincludedSlovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, Malaysia Supreme Leader Sultan Ibrahim, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The NY Times (and a lot of other Western media outlets) is reading all of this as a 'loss' and reputational hit for Putin, again given the scaled-down and lower key nature of everything.

Happy Great Victory Day!pic.twitter.com/trYNYEz1K2

Source: ZeroHedge News