Beginning of the military parade of 9-May in Moscow, in the presence of foreign leaders, including Chinese Xi Jinping and Brazilian Lula

More than twenty foreign leaders attend the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, crowned by a large military parade in Red Square. This diplomatic ballet takes place despite Western attempts to isolate Vladimir Putin and the warnings of Ukraine, who said he saw any foreign participation as “Support for the aggressive state”. The main major guest to these commemorations is Chinese president Xi Jinping, sitting alongside his Russian counterpart and other leaders in the stands, according to images broadcast by Russian public television. Arrived on Wednesday, he was received at the Kremlin by Mr. Putin for a meeting at the end of which the two leaders adopted a joint declaration criticizing the Westerners.

Another important participant, the Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country aims to play a role of mediator in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Traditional partners of Russia, the leaders of Vietnam, Mongolia, Egypt and Burma are also there. Among Africans, the leaders of Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Congo, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea made the trip.

Like almost every year, the traditional Moscow allies are present: Kazakh Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev and Belarusian Alexandre Loukachenko. Also Prime Minister, Nikol Pachinian. In addition to Kazakhstan, the leaders of the other four former Soviet republics in Central Asia are on site: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. This is also the case of two Moscow allies in Latin America: Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro and Cuban Miguel Diaz-Canel, with whom Mr. Putin had discussions.

Despite Brussels’s warnings, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will be held alongside Vladimir Putin. Mr. Fico, who had already gone to Moscow at the end of 2024, was accused several times by his detractors of pursuing a policy of appeasement towards Mr. Putin, while hearing kyiv. A meeting between Mr. Fico and Mr. Putin is planned. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, whose country has historically strong links with Russia, has also made the trip. The president of the Bosnia Serbs, Milorad Dodik, is sought after by Bosnian justice.

The leaders of two PROLUSSE separatist territories of Georgia not recognized by the international community are also in Moscow: Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia. The president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmoud Abbas, is also there and will have an interview with Mr. Putin. The secretaries general of the organization of Islamic cooperation, the Shanghai cooperation organization and the organization of the collective security treaty also participate in the ceremony. According to the Kremlin, the defense ministers of several countries are also present, as well as the North Korean ambassador and “Veterans of Israel and the United States”.