Putin Puts on Show of Defiance as Cease-Fire Talks Drag On

New York Times

10-05-2025

He hugged a North Korean general. He squired China's leader around with special care. He spoke of the sacrifices of soldiers. And he paraded Russian-made drones for the first time across Red Square.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia drew attention to the very factors that have enabled him to wage war against Ukraine into a fourth year, as he presided over festivities on Friday in Moscow to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory over the Nazis during World War II.
Mr. Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 initially proved catastrophic for Russian forces, but he has since turned around the situation on the battlefield. Among his helpers: North Korean soldiers and ammunition, Chinese oil purchases and technology, Russian soldiers shouldering immense losses and seemingly unending swarms of Russian drones.
All were represented on Red Square in some way, as the Russian leader underscored to the world, through a Soviet-style display of pageantry and militarism, that he does not need to stand down in Ukraine.
'Truth and justice are on our side,' Mr. Putin told the more than 11,500 military personnel that the Kremlin said had gathered for the parade, including over 1,500 involved in Moscow's war against Ukraine.
'The whole country, society and people support the participants of the special military operation,' Mr. Putin added, using the Kremlin's chosen euphemism for the war.
Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said the events were calibrated to communicate a clear message: 'If people believe that Russia is exhausted, that the will, equipment and personnel to fight is not there, these people are dead wrong.'
'That's the message that he's trying to send,' Mr. Gabuev said. 'Not necessarily that this is the reality.'
Mr. Gabuev noted that in addition to the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, one of the most powerful people in the world, Mr. Putin also welcomed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the largest country in Latin America. Their presence was part of a broader attempt by the Kremlin to show that despite isolation from the West, Russia has maintained and in many cases improved ties elsewhere.
In a trip that will serve as a response to Mr. Putin's gathering, the leaders of four nations allied with Ukraine — Britain, France, Germany and Poland — on Saturday made their first joint visit to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Their arrival was intended to show their support and highlight their calls for Russia to agree to a 30-day unconditional cease-fire.
The events came as President Trump, who had promised on the campaign trail to broker peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, said talks with Russian officials were continuing. He reiterated his support for the cease-fire, which Kyiv has supported, and threatened to impose additional sanctions if Russia holds out.
'Thousands of young soldiers are dying on a weekly basis, and everybody should want it to STOP,' Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the events. 'I do, and the United States of America does, also.'
Mr. Trump is scheduled to embark this next week on a trip to the Middle East, the first major foreign foray of his second term, though he has said he will not meet there with Mr. Putin.
Trump administration officials came in with enthusiasm about striking a deal with Mr. Putin to end the war in Ukraine, but they have since said Russia is asking for too much in negotiations and have threatened to walk away.
Mr. Putin could welcome that outcome, particularly if could continue normalizing relations with Washington and achieve sanctions relief, without having to make concession on Ukraine.
'The question going forward will be: If the U.S. in fact does pull back from the negotiations to try to end the war, will the U.S.-Russia track, the reset, continue?' said Angela Stent, a Russia expert and professor emerita at Georgetown University. 'I think we don't quite know that yet. What Putin wants, and he has wanted that from the beginning, is to separate the two.'
In comments broadcast on Sunday on state television, Mr. Putin said Moscow had 'enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires.'
The day before Friday's Victory Day festivities, Mr. Putin held a separate summit for Mr. Xi, the Kremlin's most important foreign partner, and signed a raft of joint documents that rebuked United States both implicitly and explicitly.
The statements seemed calibrated to communicate that despite Mr. Trump's demands in peace negotiations with Moscow and in his trade war with Beijing, the nations would stand together.
Mr. Xi denounced what he called hegemonic bullying, a clear reference to Mr. Trump's trade broadside. Mr. Putin, who has toned down his vitriol against the United States while hoping to reset ties with Washington, for once seemed the less confrontational of the two.
'The timing and the tone is probably not what Russia would want to have,' Mr. Gabuev said. 'But that's the price you pay for being a partner of China.'