Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grand World War II Victory Day parade began in Moscow on Friday, as the Kremlin sought to stir patriotism at home and project strength abroad amid its ongoing war in Ukraine.
More than 20 foreign leaders attended the annual event — the fourth since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Among the most prominent guests were Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also took part, defying warnings from Brussels to become the only European Union leader present. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, whose country maintains close ties with Moscow, also attended the parade.
A day earlier, Xi and Putin held over three hours of talks at the Kremlin. Following the meeting, Putin referred to Xi as his “dear friend,” and both leaders issued strong messages of defiance toward the West.This year’s commemoration marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. Russian officials had promised the biggest Victory Day celebrations yet, with Putin even ordering a temporary “humanitarian” truce with Ukraine during the holiday.
Ukraine, however, dismissed the gesture as a sham and called the events in Moscow a “parade of cynicism,” warning that it could not guarantee the safety of world leaders attending the celebrations. In Russia, World War II is officially remembered as the “Great Patriotic War,” starting with Nazi Germany’s surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and ending in 1945. However, the 1939–1941 period — when Moscow had a non-aggression pact with Berlin — is largely glossed over in state narratives. The war had a catastrophic toll on the Soviet Union, with more than 20 million civilians and soldiers killed.