Embarrassment for Putin as Victory Day flag blunder leaves organisers red-faced

An awkward AI-generated blunder was spotted during a televised broadcast of Russia's annual Victory Day military parade. Footage of elite Russian Air Force pilots performing their traditional flypast on Saturday showed fighter jets displaying the flags of European NATO member states, including the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and Norway. It came shortly after Vladimir Putin praised Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, saying they "face an aggressive force that is armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc". "Victory has always been and will be ours," the Russian president declared in reference to the war, now in its fifth year. The technical blunder occurred during the flypast by the Russian Knights (Russkiye Vityazi) and Swifts (Strizhi) aerobatic teams - one of the most anticipated moments of the parade on Moscow’s Red Square marking the 81st anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Russian fighter jets, including MiG-29s, Su-30SMs and Su-25s, flew over the square in their signature Cuban Diamond formation, releasing smoke in the colours of the Russian flag. State media alternated between live cameras and AI-generated footage to give viewers a close-up perspective of the jets. Putin , who has been in power for more than a quarter of a century, has long used Victory Day - Russia's most important secular holiday - to showcase the country’s military might and rally support for the war in Ukraine . Security was tight in Moscow as the Russian president and several foreign leaders attended the parade, with bodyguards carrying black bags believed to be fold-out bulletproof shields, along with what appeared to be the "Cheget" nuclear briefcase, seen near Putin. This year’s parade was drastically scaled back, featuring no tanks, missiles or other heavy weapons - aside from the flypast - for the first time in nearly two decades. The Russian Defence Ministry said the change in format was due to the "current operational situation" and officials also pointed to the threat of Ukrainian attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that the Russian authorities "fear drones may buzz over Red Square" during celebrations on Saturday. In response to US President Donald Trump ’s announcement of a three-day ceasefire running from Saturday to Monday, along with a prisoner exchange, Zelensky issued a decree mockingly permitting Russia to hold its Victory Day celebrations and declaring Red Square temporarily off-limits for Ukrainian strikes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Zelensky’s decree as a "silly joke". "We don’t need anyone’s permission to be proud of our Victory Day," he told reporters. Peskov later said no threats had been detected during the parade, saying: "Nobody tried anything, everything is fine."