While its war in Ukraine continued, Russia held its annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday, with foreign leaders from around the world, including one from an EU member state.
While Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were among the most prominent international guests, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico stood out as the only leader from the 27-member bloc.
Fico, who has openly challenged the European Union’s policies over Ukraine, has shrugged off warnings from the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas against visiting Moscow, saying, “nobody can order me where to go or not to go.“
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić made his first trip to Russia since the invasion on Wednesday, despite the EU’s message that visiting Moscow could derail Serbia’s ambitions to join the bloc.
The Kremlin said Putin will have bilateral meetings with him and Fico on Friday.
Putin met on Wednesday with the leaders of Cuba and Venezuela, who also came to Moscow. He and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed an agreement on strategic partnership and cooperation.
The leaders of Vietnam and Burkina-Faso, plus the presidents of several former Soviet nations, were also at the event.
Victory Day, which is celebrated in Russia on 9 May, is the country’s most important popular holiday, and is celebrated with a large military parade on Red Square.
The parade and other ceremonies are key to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his attempts to project an image of Russia as an important international actor, while its all-out war against neighbouring Ukraine continues.
Speaking at the parade, Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, saying that “we are proud of their courage and determination, their spiritual force that always has brought us victory.”
Afterwards, Putin shook hands with Russian military officers who led the troops on Red Square and spoke to a group of medal-bedecked senior North Korean officers who watched the parade, hugging one of them.
Last month, Putin thanked North Korea for fighting alongside Russian troops against Ukrainian forces and hailed their sacrifices as Pyongyang confirmed its deployment for the first time.
Russia has become a pariah state since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and has faced multiple rounds of heavy sanctions by the West.
Video editor • Rory Elliott Armstrong
