The event in Moscow

Putin (with Xi) at the Red Square parade: 'Truth and justice on our side'

The military parade on Red Square marks the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. "The whole country, society, the people unitedly support the participants of the Special Military Operation," said the Kremlin chief

9 May 2025

Russia, parata sulla Piazza Rossa per il Giorno della Vittoria

3' min read

In Vladimir Putin's words, the exaltation of "the triumphant events" of 80 years ago is an omen of a second victory that is yet to come, but is certain. 'We remember the lessons of the Second World War, and we will never accept the distortions of those events, the attempts to justify the executioners and to lie about the real victors,' said the Russian president speaking at the 9 May Military Parade on Red Square. Russia has been and will be an unshakable barrier against Nazism, Russophobia, anti-Semitism. Truth and justice are on our side'.

And here, but only in this one sentence of a shorter and less aggressive speech than in the past three years, Putin referred to the ongoing war in Ukraine. "The whole country, society, the people unitedly support the participants of the Special Military Operation," the Kremlin chief said, "We are proud of their courage and determination, of that fortitude that has always led us only to victory.

He does not pronounce the word 'Ukraine', nor does he refer to the United States with which the Kremlin has initiated a cautious rapprochement, of which Putin is intent on taking measures. He therefore avoids directly condemning, as in the past, the 'collective West'. Even if, in the gallery behind Putin, the guest of honour among the foreign leaders is the Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a group of 27 foreign leaders mostly from the traditional allies of the former Soviet republics as well as - among others - Brazil, Egypt, Serbia, Venezuela. And Slovakia with Prime Minister Robert Fico, the only EU leader present. It is the picture of a support with which Putin nonetheless shows the world that he is not isolated. Even if not everyone among the foreign leaders pinned on their jackets the black and orange ribbon of St. George, now a symbol of Russian military power.

The Red Square parade

Alongside the units of the Russian Army, the FSB Security Services and the National Guard, introduced for the first time by Defence Minister Andrej Belousov, 13 guards of honour from friendly countries paraded on Red Square: the largest contingent, with 102 men, was that of the Chinese People's Army. Also present were some 1,500 soldiers who served at the front against Ukraine. Followed by the procession of missile and artillery systems, 200 tanks and armoured vehicles. From unmanned drone systems, present for the first time. The flight of six bombers concluded the parade, leaving the Russian tricolour in its wake.

Mosca, la parata sulla Piazza Rossa per gli 80 anni dalla vittoria
Photogallery34 foto

Beyond the display of vehicles and military might, in the ongoing war in the present world Putin has no victorious battles with which to punctuate his intervention. In the Donbass, for marginal territorial gains, Russia continues to lose more than a thousand men on average, every day. Putin's speech thus prefers to quickly return to the past, bowing his head 'before the generation that crushed Nazism, at the price of millions of lives won freedom and peace for all mankind'.

That sacrifice, Putin continued, calls us to 'be united in the defence of our national interests, our thousand-year history, our culture, our values. Of all that is dear and sacred to us. The Soviet Union,' he reiterated, 'suffered the fiercest blows of the enemy. But the Nazis' plans were shattered in the iron unity of the country. We will always remember that the opening of a second front hastened the victory, and we appreciate the contribution of the soldiers of the allied armies, of the valiant Chinese people. Of everyone who fought in the name of a peaceful future'.

A peace whose only element of consistency is the three-day ceasefire that Putin wanted to protect and accompany the Victory celebrations. Russians and Ukrainians exchanged accusations of violations, but the war activity recorded at the front decreased. Although he did not join in what he called "theatrical staging" for the use of the parade and foreign guests, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his offer of a longer-lasting ceasefire, starting immediately: "As long as it is real," he said.