The Kremlin said on Tuesday that 29 foreign leaders will be present at Russia’s Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9. The annual parade, which takes place in Red Square, commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II and has added symbolic significance in the face of the current conflict in Ukraine.
World Leaders Set to Join
Among the senior guests will be Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, based on President Putin’s senior foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov. Other European heads of state present only include Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Aside from these, the leaders of Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Bosnia, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Congo, Myanmar, Cuba, Ethiopia, and Equatorial Guinea will be attending. Central Asian traditional allies and the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will also be attending.
Significantly, Ushakov announced that the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two pro-Russian separatist breakaway regions in Georgia unrecognized abroad as ‘independent’ will also be present.
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Foreign Troops to March on Red Square
For the parade this year, the grandest according to the Kremlin to date, soldiers from 13 nations will be joining Russia to march into Red Square. Among participating nations are China, Egypt, Vietnam, Myanmar, and a few others from the erstwhile Soviet bloc, said Ushakov.
Ukraine Warns on Involvement
In the midst of preparations, the Ukrainian authorities sounded a warning to foreign military detachments, reminding them that it would be viewed as joining hands with Moscow in its actions to join the parade. Marching alongside Russian troops, according to Ukrainian authorities, would amount to ‘sharing responsibility’ for war in Ukraine.
The guest list and foreign military presence highlight the Kremlin’s bid to present world support and unanimity as it persists in conducting its offensive against Ukraine.
