Sawt Falasteen - Moscow's Victory Day parade draws muted response from Russians

The parade was vastly scaled back 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.

Authorities throttled mobile internet ahead of the commemorations in an attempt to prevent Ukrainian drone strikes, while security around the capital was tightened considerably.

When asked what 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."

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

AFP saw one visitor, Oksana, navigating the capital using a screenshot of a map she had taken.

"There's no internet, so I took a photo of the route at home," she said.

Tatyana Travina, a 55-year-old lawyer from the western city of Yelets, said she would watch the parade -- although she acknowledged it was "very modest" compared to other years.

She called for an end to the fighting in Ukraine.

"It's time to use common sense and for a ceasefire. People are suffering on both sides," she said of the Ukraine war.

"A ceasefire is needed ... But not just a ceasefire, we need peace," she added.

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

Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire starting May 9, which was announced by US President Donald Trump.

Moscow had threatened a "massive" strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the holiday, which has become Russia's most important under President Vladimir Putin.

- 'I've seen so many deaths' -

US-mediated talks on ending the fighting have shown little progress, and have been sidelined by the US-Israeli war launched against Iran in late February.

Domestic concerns in Russia have meanwhile mounted, with the economy slowing in recent months and inflation running above target.

Putin issued a rallying call to Russians at the parade, telling them that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an "aggressive force" backed by all of NATO.

He described his war goals as "just", invoking the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany to rally support for the military.

Some Russians were delighted to watch the parade.

"I have good feelings about Victory Day because my mother fought, my uncles fought," said Lidia, 82.

World War II claimed an estimated 27 million lives across the USSR.

"Our country has suffered hard-won victories, but it still became free," she said

But for some others, Putin's message fell flat.

Daniil, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity from the capital, said the parade had "no" importance to him.

Bek Ismailov, a 60-year-old rifleman visiting the parade, told AFP he wanted a "Russia without war".

"I've seen so many deaths, and I don't want to see that anymore."

R.Halabi--SF-PST