Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow to attend the 9 May Victory Day parade and, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed a joint statement supporting “peace efforts” and claiming that a long-term resolution of the war requires addressing its “root causes.”
Since the Soviet era, and especially under Vladimir Putin, the 9 May WWII Victory Day has evolved from a remembrance of peace and sacrifice into a display of military power. In recent years, Russian authorities have drawn direct parallels between the WWII struggle and the current war, using the occasion to reinforce patriotic narratives and legitimize state policies, including the aggression against Ukraine.
In 2022, Putin openly declared that the goal of the war was to “unite the Russian people,” and his ongoing rhetoric denies Ukraine’s sovereignty. The Kremlin’s true objective is to dismantle Ukraine’s military, seize political control, and install a government loyal to Moscow.
The Putin–Xi statement also claims that no country should strengthen its security at the expense of others, despite the fact that Russia is waging a full-scale war on Ukrainian soil, Russian propaganda RIA Novosti reports.
Meanwhile, Russian propaganda media are flooded with reports claiming that Putin has instructed the Russian Defense Ministry to identify targets for a strike with medium-range Oreshnik or Kedr ballistic missiles “in response to possible provocations from Ukraine” during the parade, according to Facty.
Only two European leaders, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, will attend Moscow’s Victory Day events on 9 May, European Pravda writes.
Vučić has already arrived in the Russian capital, with a delay due to an air raid alert. Additionally, a small group of European Parliament members is reportedly traveling to Moscow to visit the parade.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Russia, marching on Red Square on 9 May, will try to whitewash its mass shootings of civilians, execution of prisoners of war, and rape, committed in Ukraine.
The Russian army has committed and continues to commit atrocities in Ukraine on a scale not seen in Europe since World War II, it added.
