Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that the conflict in Ukraine is nearing its end after he oversaw a military parade on Red Square commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, a show that didn't include heavy weapons for the first time in nearly two decades.

Security was tight in Moscow as Putin and several foreign leaders attended the parade, which was scaled down even as a US-brokered three-day ceasefire eased concerns about possible Ukrainian attempts to disrupt the festivities.

Putin, in power for more than a quarter-century, has used Victory Day, Russia's most important secular holiday, to showcase the country's military might and rally support for his military action in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.