This week has been special here in the Russian capital. Three nights in a row, Ukrainian drones have been heading towards the center of Moscow. According to the Russian authorities, everyone has been shot down without doing more damage. But wreckage from one of Ukraine’s drones fell on a main road just about 12 kilometers from the Kremlin. It says a little about how close they come to the center of power. The largest and most important airports in Moscow have been closed for shorter or longer time, and hundreds of flights have been canceled or delayed. With subsequent chaos for the passengers. Ukrainian president Volodyymyr Zelenskyj has said that “Kyiv cannot be responsible for what happens in Russian territory when the victory day is marked”. This is the backdrop when President Putin puts all his prestige in this event. Russian soldiers in training before the victory parade last year. Photo: Maxim Shipenkov / AP / NTB “Friends Meet” According to Russian media, some and twenty countries are represented with their leaders in the Red Square. There is no doubt that the guest of honor is Chinese President Xi Jinping. He will be here for three days. When Putin welcomed him in the Kremlin yesterday, he called Xi “a dear friend”. The Chinese leader said he is happy to be in Russia again to meet his “old friend”. Both agree that the ties between the two countries are stronger and deeper than ever and they will be further developed. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP / NTB China has become the most important trading partner for Russia after Western countries introduced various penalties. Now they are talking about building another new gas pipeline from Siberia to China. For Putin, it is very important that XI defies the danger of Ukrainian drones and is present in Moscow. In addition, Russian government-controlled media makes a number of Prime Minister Robert Fico from the EU country Slovakia come to attend the parade. It happens even though the management of the EU has warned Fico that this will have consequences. Russian authorities are probably very pleased with this split on the western side. Why is this day so important? In the then Soviet Union, between 20 and 27 million people lost their lives in World War II. This means that most families were directly or indirectly affected by the fight against Germany’s Nazis. The Communist Soviet Board did a great deal to maintain the memories of the efforts during the war. In the windows of almost all stores in Moscow, posters have been hung in memory of victory day 80 years ago. Photo: Jan Espen Kruse / news It helped to legitimize the communist regime, and it was a topic that most had a close relationship with. The marking of the victory day evolved to become the most important public day for very many generations. A quarter of a century now Vladimir Putin has been Russia’s leader for 25 years. He has also used the victory day to legitimize his board. Russian police are deployed at a few hundred meters across Moscow ahead of the victory parade. Photo: Jan Espen Kruse / news But when the Russian authorities initiated the attack war against Ukraine in February 2022, the fight against neo -Nazism was used as a new argument. From Putin’s side, it was claimed that Ukraine’s leaders are neo -Nazis and that the regime must be replaced. The claim comes even if the Ukraine authorities were chosen in free and fair choices. The claim is rejected by Western countries and independent organizations. But in government -driven Russian media, it is now emphasized daily that the fight against Nazism during World War II can be compared to the war that Russian forces are now leading to neo -Nazism in Ukraine. Therefore, Russian soldiers who have fought in Ukraine will be in the parade in the Red Square. Putin uses this day and the mark in an attempt to legitimize the attack war in neighboring countries. That is why it is so important for him that some leaders from other countries are present to support him. Although they will probably look up in the air if there are other things flying than Russian aircraft and helicopters under the parade. Published 09.05.2025, at. 09.04
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