Russia staged its most reduced Victory Day parade in recent years on Saturday, prompted by fears of Ukrainian attacks, as Moscow's goals remain out of reach more than four years into Europe's bloodiest war since World War Two.

The May 9 parade on Red Square stands as Russia's premier national observance - a celebration of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany and a tribute to the 27 million Soviet citizens, including numerous Ukrainians, who died in the conflict.

Traditionally a showcase for Russia's formidable arsenal, including nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, this year's procession featured no tanks or heavy military hardware traversing Red Square's historic cobblestones.

Troops and naval personnel, many with frontline experience in Ukraine, paraded and saluted while President Vladimir Putin observed from a seat next to elderly Russian veterans, beneath the gaze of Vladimir Lenin's Mausoleum.

Fighter jets streaked overhead past the Kremlin's spires, with Putin scheduled to deliver an address before placing wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"Overall, it's business as usual, minus the display of military hardware," noted Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov to journalists.

Following mutual accusations of breaching self-declared ceasefires in recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump declared a three-day truce from Saturday through Monday, endorsed by both the Kremlin and Kyiv. The parties also committed to swapping 1,000 prisoners.

"I'd like to see it stop. Russia-Ukraine - it's the worst thing since World War Two in terms of life. Twenty-five thousand young soldiers every month. It's crazy," Trump remarked to reporters in Washington.

He expressed hope for a "big extension" of the truce. No violations were reported by either Moscow or Kyiv.

Since launching its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia had cautioned that any Kyiv interference with the event would trigger a devastating missile barrage on Ukraine's capital, instructing foreign envoys to withdraw their Kyiv personnel in anticipation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded with a wry decree "permitting" Russia's May 9 parade and assuring that Ukrainian arms would spare Red Square.

Moscow's security measures were stringent. Images captured armed soldiers on pickup truck roofs and road closures encircling the city center, home to 22 million residents in the capital and its region.

Ukraine War Overshadows Russia's Ceremony

The Soviet Red Army repelled Nazi Germany's 1941 invasion, advancing to Berlin where Adolf Hitler took his life, culminating in the Red Victory Banner atop the Reichstag in May 1945.

Nazi Germany's surrender activated at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945 - Victory in Europe Day for Britain, the U.S., and France. In Moscow, already May 9, it evolved into the Soviet "Victory Day" during what Russians term the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45.

Yet this parade unfolds against mounting Moscow unease regarding the Ukraine war's trajectory.

The fighting has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, devastated vast Ukrainian territories, sapped Russia's $3 trillion economy, and plunged ties with Europe to post-Cold War lows.

"The crisis keeps intensifying slowly, but any abrupt shift could plunge the economy - and more - into freefall," wrote imprisoned pro-war nationalist Igor Girkin, a Kremlin critic on war management, via Telegram.

The ex-Federal Security Service operative drew a ship metaphor, suggesting Russian leaders fret more over losing their quarters than the vessel sinking.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected CNN and Western reports of heightened Putin security over coup or assassination threats. Officials branded coup rumors baseless.

CNN referenced an anonymous European intelligence source claiming ex-Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as a possible coup figurehead.

Shoigu, Security Council secretary, joined Putin's virtual Security Council session Friday and appeared at Saturday's parade alongside top Kremlin figures.