The Kremlin has, for the first time in the history of the Victory Day parade, withdrawn the accreditations of foreign journalists. According to Der Spiegel, reporters from Germany's ARD and ZDF, Britain's Sky News, France's AFP, Italy's RAI and Japan's NHK were informed they would not have access on May 9 in Moscow. Only Russian outlets are allowed in.

The Kremlin spokesman's explanation is concise: "Due to the current situation, the format of coverage of the Victory Day parade has been changed." Translated - we don't want outside cameras on a stage where we're trying to prove everything is fine.

This is the first time since the parade began that Moscow has revoked already-issued accreditations. It isn't refusing new requests - it's pulling confirmed ones. A signal that can't be read any other way: the images this year are to be under the Kremlin's complete editorial control. Parade optics in the era of drones, exactly the way Russian propagandists want to design them.

The May 9 parade in Moscow always has a political side, but this year is pure stagecraft. Foreign media are not allowed because every frame outside the pre-set focus can be interpreted at the expense of the narrative. In the Balkans we recognise this: when an institution closes the door on independent cameras, it doesn't mean there's nothing to see. It means the people looking are now treated as a threat.