Moscow’s Victory Day parade was the biggest for years, after Vladimir Putin gave a speech on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Meanwhile, Ukraine says it has uncovered a spy ring. Follow the latest below.
Friday 9 May 2025 10:12, UK
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Germany will not “hesitate” to impose further sanctions on Russia, its new chancellor Friedrich Merz has said.
He has also said Europe supports President Trump’s plan for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine (see 7.53 post).
Speaking on his first visit to Brussels since being appointed, Merz said the EU and US would continue to support Ukraine, increasing support if necessary.
However, he said Germany continued to oppose a joint EU debt to finance defence spending.
“We call on Russia at last to set out on the path for real peace negotiations,” he told reporters.
“If that doesn’t happen we won’t hesitate, together with our European partners and the US, to increase the sanctions pressure.”
With Russia’s Victory Day anniversary celebrations in full swing, it’s clear it is a day of pomp and fanfare.
Moscow has marked the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War with a massive military parade on Red Square attended by Vladimir Putin and foreign leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Russian soldiers have been marching in columns and making their way through the capital.
The parade and other ceremonies underline Moscow’s efforts to project its global power and cement the alliances it has forged as a counterbalance to the West amid the conflict in Ukraine.
So what did the UK do yesterday?
There were commemorations across the UK yesterday and at noon King Charles led a two-minute silence and placed a wreath with the words “We will never forget” at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.
Seventy-eight veterans, now in their 90s or past the age of 100, gathered at the Abbey to bear witness and were handed white roses as the great-great-grandson of wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, 10-year-old Alexander Churchill, lit a candle of peace.
The King also paid tribute to the service and sacrifice of the wartime generation in a speech.
Vladimir Putin is now laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
He is joined by other world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
The memorial in the Alexander Garden in Moscow is dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War.
Vladimir Putin has left his seat and is now shaking the hands of army officials who have lined up in Moscow’s Red Square.
Our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett says the parade has just finished and VIPs are now laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
He also notes the size of the parade was “much bigger than previous years”.
“I think there were between 7,000-8,000 armed personnel two years ago,” he says.
“This year it was around 11,500.”
David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, is to visit the western Ukrainian city of Lviv today.
He will join his Ukrainian counterpart and 17 other foreign ministers, the Foreign Office said.
They will discuss how to secure peace in Ukraine.
Ministers will confirm their support for the “establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine”, the Foreign Office said.
In addition, the UK is providing almost £25m in “new funding to support local Ukrainian organisations” in protecting the most vulnerable.
Lammy said: “I have been supportive of a Special Tribunal to prosecute Russia’s leaders for their war of aggression since March 2022, just weeks after Putin’s full-scale invasion.
“This was a key manifesto commitment and as soon as we came into government, we made it a top priority.”
Ukraine’s security agency says it’s discovered a Hungarian spy network seeking intelligence on Kyiv’s defences.
The SBU says it has detained two suspected agents who, it claims, were being run by Hungary.
It says it’s the first time in the history of Ukraine that has happened.
The SBU said the two suspects are former members of the Ukrainian military who were recruited by a handler in Hungarian military intelligence.
They were given cash and special equipment for secret communications, it added.
The Hungarian government has been asked for a response.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been sceptical about Western military aid for Ukraine.
He has also maintained relations with Vladimir Putin, marking a difference with most other EU leaders.
Russia will reportedly parade drones it uses against Ukraine during Victory Day celebrations in central Moscow.
State television says it’s the first time that has happened.
Channel One said the Lancet and Geran-2 drones would be among those displayed at the event to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany.
The ZALA Lancet drone is a loitering munition used for both strike and reconnaissance missions.
It has reportedly destroyed Ukrainian tanks and a military jet.
The Geran-2 drone is a Russian-made suicide or kamikaze drone, the design of which originated in Iran.
Victory Day in Moscow is a mixture of politics and military commemorations.
Vladimir Putin is watching on from the stands, where he is sat next to Xi Jinping, as troops march through Moscow’s Red Square.
Russia is marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War with a military parade.
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Ukraine war latest: Putin meets troops after biggest Moscow Victory Day parade for years – as Ukraine 'uncovers spy ring' – Sky News
