Vladimir Putin chatted easily with China's Xi Jinping as a pro-Kremlin US actor sat nearby watching tanks and missiles roll across the cobblestones of Red Square. These were the scenes in the VIP seats for Russia's flagship Victory Day parade on Friday, a grand showcase of military hardware in front of foreign guests in the midst of Moscow's offensive on Ukraine.
Putin, who launched the full-scale campaign on Ukraine in February 2022, has used the memory of the Soviet war effort to whip up support for the army. Moscow had in 2023 and 2024 scaled down its celebrations of the Nazi defeat, displaying fewer tanks than normal. Analysts said many were at the front in Ukraine.
Foreign leaders were also few, not wanting to travel to Russia or be seen alongside Putin. But for the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII and three years into the Ukraine campaign, the pomp was back in full force.
Under blue skies, Moscow showed off a fleet of new tanks, Iskander missiles and, for the first time, attack drones, the kind of which it sends in waves to target Ukraine on a near daily basis. An array of foreign leaders attended, and the parade even saw Chinese troops march on Russia's most famous square. Putin used his short speech to assure that victory was approaching in Ukraine.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands and talk of peace is high on the agenda amid US President Donald Trump's attempts to end the fighting. "The whole country, society and people support the participants of the special military operation," Putin said. "We are proud of their bravery and determination, of the fortitude that has always brought us only victory," he added. Moscow has banned criticism of its military campaign and thousands of Russians have left the country since.
"Victory will be ours", read giant banners hung on Red Square, drawing parallels between the defeat of the Nazis in 1945 and Moscow's current Ukraine campaign.
Security was tight for days ahead of the event, the authorities citing a "threat" from Ukraine, which had attacked with drones targeting the Russian capital this week. Snipers were on standby on the roof of GUM, Russia's most luxurious 19th-century department store that runs alongside Red Square. The Internet was also jammed.
Troops shouted the traditional Russian chant of "Ura!" and paraded in front of more than 20 foreign leaders. Alongside Xi, they included Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with whom Moscow has good relations. Other sanctioned leaders in Moscow for the occasion were Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, Cuba's Miguel Diaz-Canel and Belarus's Alexander Lukashenko, Putin's closest ally.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attended a wreath laying ceremony outside Red Square, defying Brussels by travelling to Moscow. The Kremlin hailed his visit as an "act of heroism."
Spectators applauded as troops who fought in Ukraine marched past them. In the tribunes of guests, a German woman asked her friend: "Oh, have you seen the navy cadets?".
A motorcade of the "Night Wolves", a group of tattooed pro-Kremlin motorcycle enthusiasts, sat near Steven Seagal, the US actor and longtime friend of Putin who has received Russian citizenship.
A guest from Beijing cheered and filmed as the commentator announced Beijing's troops were about to march. After the ceremony, Putin came down from the stands to the square, where he shook hands with troops who had fought in Ukraine. He also hugged and greeted commanders from North Korea, which has become one of Russia's main allies, sending thousands of troops to help Moscow oust Ukrainian forces from its Kursk region.
"All the best to you and all your troops," Putin was heard telling them in a state TV broadcast.
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