Russia marks eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany

MOSCOW — Russia marked the eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World Warfare II with an enormous navy parade on Crimson Sq. on Friday attended by President Vladimir Putin and a slew of overseas leaders, together with Chinese language President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Victory Day, which is well known in Russia on Might 9, is the nation’s most necessary secular vacation. A Crimson Sq. parade and different ceremonies underline Moscow’s efforts to undertaking its world energy and cement the alliances it has solid whereas searching for a counterbalance to the West amid the battle Ukraine that has dragged right into a fourth yr.

World Warfare II is a uncommon occasion within the nation’s divisive historical past beneath Communist rule that’s revered by all political teams, and the Kremlin has used that sentiment to encourage nationwide delight and underline Russia’s place as a worldwide energy.

From second proper: Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese language President Xi Jinpin watch the Victory Day navy parade in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Might 9, 2025, throughout celebrations of the eightieth anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the course of the World Warfare II.

Sergei Bobylev/Photograph host company RIA Novosti

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Sergei Bobylev/Photograph host company RIA Novosti

The Soviet Union misplaced a staggering 27 million folks in what it calls the Nice Patriotic Warfare in 1941-45, an infinite sacrifice that left a deep scar within the nationwide psyche.

Festivities this yr had been overshadowed by Ukrainian drone assaults concentrating on Moscow and extreme disruptions on the capital’s airports.

Russian flag provider Aeroflot on Wednesday morning canceled greater than 100 flights to and from Moscow, and delayed over 140 others because the navy had been repelling repeated Ukrainian drone assaults on the capital.

Russian authorities have tightened safety forward of the parade and cellphone web outages have been reported amid digital countermeasures aimed toward foiling extra potential drone assaults.

Talking on the parade, Putin hailed Russian troops combating in Ukraine, saying that “we are proud of their courage and determination, their spiritual force that always has brought us victory.”

Russian Protection Minister Andrei Belousov is pushed alongside Crimson Sq. in an Aurus automobile in the course of the Victory Day navy parade in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Might 9, 2025, marking the eightieth anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the course of the World Warfare II.

Alexander Wilf/AP/Photograph host company RIA Novosti

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Alexander Wilf/AP/Photograph host company RIA Novosti

The Russian chief has declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire beginning Wednesday to coincide with the Victory Day celebrations, however warned that Russian troops will retaliate to any assaults. Moscow has been reluctant to simply accept a U.S.-proposed 30-day truce that Ukraine has accepted, linking it to a halt in Western arms provides to Ukraine and Kyiv’s mobilization effort, situations Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected.

Ukrainian authorities reported scores of Russian strikes on Friday that killed at the very least two folks within the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia areas and broken buildings.

Because the Crimson Sq. parade and different festivities unfolded in Moscow, dozens of European officers had been assembly in Lviv, in western Ukraine, to endorse the creation of a particular tribunal tasked to prosecute Russian officers accused of battle crimes.