Russian troops fighting inUkrainemarched together with Chinese forces on Moscow’s Red Square to mark the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat, in a Victory Day celebration marked by greater spectacle than in recent years.
After several scaled-back Victory Days – with reduced military displays and few foreign guests –Vladimir Putinon Friday addressed the largest parade since his 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “The Soviet Union took upon itself the most ferocious, merciless blows of the enemy,” the Russian president said of the victory over Nazi Germany, before turning to his invasion of Ukraine.
“Truth and justice are on our side. The entire country, society, and people support the participants of the special military operation,” Putin said, using the Kremlin’s preferred term to describe the war.
This year’s parade welcomed the highest number of foreign heads since 2015 – at least 27 – including the leaders of Brazil, Slovakia and Serbia, with Moscow presenting the turnout as proof that it is not isolated, even four years into its war in Ukraine.
Other guests who flew in included leaders from fellow autocracies and pariah regimes, such as the military juntas from Myanmar and Burkina Faso.
The Russian leader also thanked a visiting North Korean military delegation – a signal of deepening ties and new geopolitical realities, following recentadmissions from both sidesthat North Korean troops have been fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
Presiding over the parade, Putin sat beside the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, and was seen in frequent conversation with his most powerful ally. The two men heldextensive talksahead of the parade, and their joint statement went further than previous statements in directly condemning the US.
This year’s parade featured an expanded military presence, with a new fleet of tanks rolling across Red Square, alongside rocket launchers, TOS-2 Tosochka heavy flamethrower systems, and Iskander ballistic missiles – all weapons used in the war in Ukraine. For the first time, several types of modern Russian-made drones were also on display, underscoring their role as a defining feature of the conflict.
The showcase of weaponry marked a stark contrast to 2024’s toned-down parade, when only a single Soviet-era tankrolled through Red Square. The shift is likely to resonate in European capitals, where officials have grown increasingly concerned about Moscow’s ability to replenish its military stockpiles and ramp up weapons production.
Over his two and a half decades in power, Victory Day has emerged as thecentrepiece of Putin’s vision of Russian identity. But since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion, the Kremlin’s mass propaganda machine has given it new meaning, with Putin using the celebrations to justify the current war.
Seated not far from Putin were several high-profile veterans of the war in Ukraine, while Russian media reported that more than 1,500 troops who took part in the invasion participated in the march.
Putin has weaponised the legacy of the second world war to mobilise support for his invasion, falsely portraying Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, – who is Jewish – as a leader resurrecting Nazism in Ukraine.
“Victory Day is by far the most important celebration for Putin – it’s an ideological event designed to rally the nation around him,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a Moscow-based political analyst.
“The central message to the public is that the current ‘special military operation’ is a logical continuation of the Great Patriotic War,” he added.
In a speech a day earlier, Zelenskyy condemned what he called Russia’s attempt to “appropriate Ukraine and distort history”, accusing the Kremlin of twisting the legacy of the second world war for propaganda purposes.
“Tomorrow, the organiser of the mass graves in Bucha will speak of Nazi atrocities. The architects of the Mariupol siege will invoke the siege of Leningrad. It will be a parade of cynicism, bile, and lies,” Zelenskyy said.
Despite the show of might on Red Square on Friday, there was widespread nervousness among Moscow’s political elite before the celebrations.
At the end of April, Putin announced a three-day unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine, starting on 8 May to coincide with the commemorations. Zelenskyy dismissed the offer as self-serving and meaningless unless extended to 30 days, in line with a US-backed proposal that Putin has so far rejected.
In the lead-up to Victory Day, Ukraine significantly increased its drone attacks on Moscow and surrounding regions, causing airport closures, disruptions, and logistical chaos.
Zelenskyy also warned that Ukraine would provide no security guarantees to foreign guests attending the parade in Moscow. As many observers had predicted, Kyiv appeared to refrain from targeting Moscow on the day of the parade, probably due to the presence of high-profile international dignitaries.
Still, fighting continued near the frontlines, with Moscow accusing Ukrainian forces of attempting to breach the border in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions.
This year’s parade comes at what many see as a crossroads moment for Moscow, as the Trump administration steps up its efforts to pressure Putin into ending the war in Ukraine. There appears to be a growing recognition in the White House that the Kremlin is not ready to back down from its maximalist demands – including territorial claims over parts of Ukraine it does not control.
The US vice-president, JD Vance, echoed that frustration earlier this week, sayingRussia was asking for “too much”in the talks, in the latest sign of Washington’s impatience with the negotiations.
Some of the rhetoric coming out of Moscow has also notably hardened toward Washington as peace talks remain stalled. “Yes, perhaps we disappoint them in some ways. But they disappoint us too – maybe even more as time goes on,” said the top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Thursday.
Kolesnikov said Putin appeared undecided about whether to enter serious negotiations or continue the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces are making slow, grinding progress at a high human cost. “For now, he is stalling for time,” he said.
In a symbolic gesture, as the parade took place in Moscow, European foreign ministers were in the west Ukrainian city of Lviv for informal meetings following a gathering in Warsaw earlier this week.
The British foreign secretary, David Lammy, was also expected alongside foreign ministers from the majority of EU nations, and officials were expected to make announcements about the establishment of a tribunal to consider war crimes charges against Russian soldiers and officials.
In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said Lammy would meet in Lviv with his Ukrainian counterpart and 17 other foreign ministers to discuss how best to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.