Russia commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II with a significant military parade, which proceeded without reports of Ukrainian attacks, despite three years of intense conflict.
President Vladimir Putin, the longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin, stood alongside China’s Xi Jinping and numerous other leaders and Russian veterans on a covered platform near Lenin’s mausoleum as troops marched by.
Putin asserted that Russia would never accept attempts to diminish the Soviet Union’s pivotal role in defeating Nazi Germany, while also acknowledging the contributions of the Western allies in overcoming Adolf Hitler.
“The Soviet Union bore the brunt of the enemy’s most brutal and ruthless assaults,” Putin noted.
A column of Soviet-era T-34 tanks paraded through Red Square during the Victory Day event.
Putin refrained from criticizing the West and made only brief references to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, which cast a shadow over the celebrations.
More than 11,500 troops paraded on Red Square, including 1,500 who have served in Ukraine.
For the first time, drones—considered the most significant technological advancement of the war—were showcased, along with tanks and intercontinental Yars missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Earlier this week, Ukraine launched drone attacks on Moscow, although no significant incidents were reported during a 72-hour ceasefire declared by Putin.
Vietnamese servicemen marched on Red Square during the celebration.
The Soviet Union endured 27 million casualties during World War II, including millions in Ukraine, but managed to repel Nazi forces to Berlin, where Hitler took his own life, and the red Soviet Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag in 1945.
Historians from the Chinese Communist Party estimate China’s casualties in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) at 35 million.
The Japanese occupation led to the displacement of up to 100 million Chinese and significant economic hardship, along with the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 victims.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv provides accurate casualty figures for the ongoing war, although former US President Donald Trump, who advocates for peace, claims that hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides have been killed or wounded.
People placed flowers at the eternal flame in front of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow.
Putin leverages World War II memories to unify Russia.
Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender took effect at 11:01 PM on May 8, 1945, which Britain, the US, and France commemorate as “Victory in Europe Day.”
In Moscow, it was already May 9, celebrated as the Soviet Union’s “Victory Day” in what is referred to as the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
For Russians—and many people of the former Soviet Union—May 9 is the most sacred date on the calendar, and Putin has sought to utilize World War II memories to bring Russian society together, particularly in light of the current war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin claims that the presence of Russian allies, such as Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and leaders from former Soviet states, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, demonstrates that Russia is not isolated, even as its former Western allies from World War II choose to stay away.
Chinese troops participated in the parade, and Putin exchanged handshakes with North Korean officers, commending their combat skills.
North Korean forces have aided Russia in counteracting incursions from Ukrainian troops in the western Kursk region, who are seeking leverage in peace negotiations.
Trump has called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, stating that if this truce is violated, “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Putin proposed a 72-hour ceasefire covering May 8, 9, and 10, although Ukraine claimed that Russia broke the truce, a statement Moscow dismissed as absurd.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies to assist in resisting Russian forces, which currently occupy about a fifth of Ukraine.
“Evil cannot be appeased. It must be confronted,” said Zelensky, according to the Kyiv Post.
He condemned Moscow’s Victory Day parade, calling it “a parade of cynicism.”
“There is simply no other way to describe it. It’s a parade of bile and lies.”
