The ceasefire announced from May 9 to May 11 lasted almost exactly as long as the news segment about it on Russian television. Russia's Ministry of Defence said 44 Ukrainian drones were shot down on the night of May 9 over Russian territory and the Sea of Azov. The strike was coordinated and arrived in successive waves.

The context makes the picture even harder for the Kremlin. The ceasefire had been agreed after talks brokered by Donald Trump, as part of a package that also included a prisoner exchange - 1,000 for 1,000. The arrangement itself had been pitched as a diplomatic breakthrough. And now, on the very night of the Victory Day parade, it showed itself to be a facade.

Zelensky officially accepted the ceasefire, and simultaneously authorised a coordinated drone strike. That isn't a translation error - it's a deliberate message. Moscow gets the signal that there are no symbolic deals without real political substance. And it gets that signal on exactly the most important visual night in the Russian calendar.

Security for the Moscow parade was tightened. Russia's anti-drone defence systems worked all night. Somewhere between the celebration and the sky above it stood a cold new reality: modern war no longer permits holidays. No pause, no symbol, no "laying down the cannon for dinner." The drones arrive even when the command shouts "truce" - and that is the real face of this war, without the decorations from Red Square.