MOSCOW — Russia's Victory Day parade marking the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II will take place on Red Square without military equipment, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry. It will be the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that no military equipment will be displayed on Red Square on May 9.

The ministry statement cited the current operational situation as the reason for excluding a military equipment convoy and cadets from the parade. The event will feature servicemen from higher military educational institutions and certain service branches of the Russian Armed Forces and will include a traditional military aircraft flyover.

Last year's Victory Day parade included over 11,500 troops and more than 180 military vehicles, including tanks, armored infantry vehicles and artillery used in the war in Ukraine. The lineup also featured Yars nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile launchers and drones carried on military trucks, while fighter jets flew over Red Square.

The 2024 parade drew the most global leaders to Moscow in a decade, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico. Also in 2024, President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire starting May 7. Authorities blocked cellphone internet in Moscow for several days during the parade to avert Ukrainian drone attacks.

In 2023, the Victory Day parade in Moscow was scaled down with fewer troops and military equipment on display and did not include a flyover. By contrast, the 2025 parade will feature no military equipment at all, according to the ministry statement.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in the conflict from 1941 to 1945, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Putin has ruled Russia for over 25 years.