Putin Showcases Power at Victory Day Parade amid Ongoing War

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to lead a grand Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday, a display the Kremlin views as a tool to boost domestic patriotism and project strength internationally while the conflict in Ukraine continues.

This year’s event, marking 80 years since the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, will be attended by over 20 foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. This marks the fourth parade since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Kremlin promises that the celebrations will be the most extensive yet. Putin has even declared a brief ceasefire with Ukraine for the holiday period, which Kyiv has denounced as a mere publicity stunt. Ukrainian officials have warned that they cannot ensure the safety of visiting dignitaries, calling the event a “parade of cynicism.”

The parade will feature a display of military hardware and troops marching through Red Square, ending with an address by Putin. Since the invasion, Putin has frequently compared the current Russian military to Soviet troops who fought against the Nazis. At a formal dinner with visiting leaders, he raised a toast to “victory.”

Despite initial plans for a swift takeover of Ukraine, the war has dragged on, resulting in heavy casualties. Moscow has implemented strict security for the celebrations, banning certain items and jamming internet signals in anticipation of potential Ukrainian attacks.

Among the prominent guests are Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić. Xi Jinping met with Putin in the Kremlin the day before the event, spending more than three hours in private discussions. The two leaders referred to each other warmly and issued strong statements against Western influence.

Victory Day commemorates what Russia calls the "Great Patriotic War," which began with Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union and ended in 1945. The earlier alliance between the USSR and Nazi Germany (1939–1941) is often omitted from official narratives.

Putin has made May 9 a cornerstone of Russian identity, linking it to resistance against fascism. Following the Ukraine invasion, dissent has been stifled under new laws, and school curricula now depict Ukraine as an ultra-nationalist regime, echoing World War II-era narratives. Putin justified the war by claiming it aimed to “de-Nazify” Ukraine  a statement widely rejected by the international community, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.