Putin gears up to host world leaders at lavish army parade

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host a lavish World War II Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday (9 May), an event the Kremlin hopes will rally patriotism at home and project strength abroad as its troops fight in Ukraine.

More than 20 foreign dignitaries, including China's Xi Jinping and Slovakia's Robert Fico, are scheduled to attend the annual parade this year, the fourth since Moscow launched a full-scale military assault on its neighbour in February 2022.

Officials promise that commemorations this year -- the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany -- will be the "biggest" ever, with Putin ordering a "humanitarian" truce with Ukraine over the holiday.

Ukraine, which has dismissed the truce as a farce, has called the events in Russia a "parade of cynicism" and has warned that it cannot guarantee the safety of world leaders attending.

The festival will be marked with a massive parade of military equipment and soldiers through Red Square, culminating in an address from the Russian leader.

Since sending troops into Ukraine, Putin has frequently drawn parallels between Russia's modern-day army and the Soviet soldiers who fought Nazi Germany.

At a dinner in honour of foreign leaders visiting the parade, Putin proposed a toast to "victory".

Russia began its assault on Ukraine in February 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since become embroiled in a huge, bloody conflict that has killed tens of thousands.

'Dear friend' Xi

Security has been tight in Moscow, where organisers have banned attendees from bringing vape pens, electric scooters or "any animals" to the Victory Parade.

Authorities have also jammed mobile internet connections in the capital, citing the threat of Ukrainian attacks.

Putin unilaterally ordered a three-day truce for the duration of the holiday, starting Thursday, but Ukraine has accused Russia of breaking it hundreds of times.

Kyiv argues the parade has "nothing to do with the victory over Nazism" and that those marching on Red Square were "quite likely" implicit in crimes against Ukrainians.

The two most important guests this year are China's Xi Jinping and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Despite warnings from Brussels, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will also attend -- the only leader from the European Union taking part.

Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia, a country with historically strong ties to Moscow, will also join.

The day before the parade, Xi and Putin met in the Kremlin, where the two held talks for more than three hours.

After their meeting, Putin addressed the Chinese leader as his "dear friend", while the two issued messages of defiance towards the West.

'Great Patriotic War'

World War II is officially remembered in Russia as the "Great Patriotic War", beginning with Germany's surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and ending with Germany's capitulation in 1945.

The period between 1939 and 1941, when the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, is glossed over in official history books.

The war had a devastating impact on the Soviet Union, resulting in more than 20 million civilian and military deaths.

Throughout his quarter-century in power, Putin has tapped into this national trauma, making May 9 Russia's most important public holiday and championing his army as defenders against fascism.

Authorities banned criticism of the military weeks after the Ukraine offensive began, and have since charged thousands in the biggest domestic crackdown in Russia's post-Soviet history.

School textbooks introduced since the offensive refer to Ukraine as an "ultra-nationalist state", likening it to the Nazi occupation government which ruled the country between 1941 and 1944.

In a speech announcing the offensive against Ukraine, Putin said the Russian army aimed to "de-Nazify" the country, a claim Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called "incomprehensible".