Putin says Ukraine war is ‘heading to an end’, blasts West for backing Kyiv

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In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videolink in Moscow on May 8, 2026. (Photo by Mikhail METZEL / POOL / AFP)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said the war in Ukraine was winding down, slamming Western support for Kyiv, as the first day of a US-brokered ceasefire was marked by mutual accusations of violations.

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Putin spoke after telling soldiers at the scaled-down parade in Moscow that they were fighting an “aggressive force” in Ukraine, backed by all of NATO and describing his war goals as “just”.

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The Russian leader has made the memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II a central narrative of his 25-year rule and repeatedly invoked it to justify his Ukraine offensive.

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Russian authorities typically mark the Victory Day parade with pomp and grandeur. But a spate of Ukrainian long-range attacks in recent weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize this year’s celebrations.

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When asked after the parade whether the Western military aid to Ukraine had gone too far, Putin said: “They started ratcheting up the confrontation with Russia, which continues to this day.

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“I think it (the conflict) is heading to an end but it’s still a serious matter.”

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“They spent months waiting for Russia to suffer a crushing defeat, for its statehood to collapse. It didn’t work out.

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“And then they got stuck in that groove and now they can’t get out of it,” Putin said, referring to the Western countries.

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Putin added he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a third country only once all conditions for a potential peace agreement were settled.

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“This should be the final point, not the negotiations themselves,” he said.

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– Ceasefire violations –

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After two failed attempts at truces this week by both Russia and Ukraine, US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a three-day ceasefire between both sides would come into effect from Saturday.

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Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of violations, but no major strikes were reported, despite continued drone activity and civilian casualties on both sides.

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“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network, adding the ceasefire would be accompanied by a prisoner exchange.

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The Kremlin said that as of now there were no plans to prolong the truce.

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The warring sides also agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners each during the truce. But Putin said Saturday that Russia had not yet received any proposals from Ukraine on the exchange.

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– Scaled-down parade –

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The parade was vastly smaller compared to previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades and only a handful of foreign dignitaries in attendance — most of them leaders of Russia’s close allies.

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In an address to the parade, attended by Russian military units as well as soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the Soviet victory to rally support for his army in Ukraine.

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“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,” Putin said.

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“They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And despite this, our heroes move forward,” he said.

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“I firmly believe that our cause is just,” he added later.

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The speech drew a cool reception from some in Moscow, with internet outages and fatigue over the four-year war casting a shadow over the events.

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When asked how she felt on Victory Day, which marks the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, 36-year-old economist Elena replied: “Nothing.”

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“I need the internet, and I don’t have it,” she told AFP from central Moscow, saying she would not watch the parade.

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Russia has introduced intermittent internet shutdowns for the duration of the parade, citing increased threats from Ukrainian attacks.

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Only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia, Laos, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were listed as attending, in contrast to high-profile visitors including China’s Xi Jinping during last year’s event.

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Now in its fifth year, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiralled into Europe’s deadliest since World War II.

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US-mediated talks on ending the fighting have shown little progress since February, when Washington shifted focus to its war against Iran.

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