This year, Russia will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. On May 9th, Russia expects more than 20 state and government leaders to attend the parade on Victory Day. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, announced this to reporters:
“We are looking forward to everyone who is willing to celebrate this great date with us. Especially now, as National Socialism has taken root in Europe. We do not see a unanimous desire in Europe to eradicate it immediately. That is why this day is so important and everyone is welcome. We can already say that we expect more than 20 state and government leaders who will celebrate this holiday together with President Putin.”
Many state and government leaders from all over the world, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, plan to visit Moscow to celebrate May 9th. Additionally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukaschenko, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and others plan to attend the Victory Parade on Red Square.
Peskov said that the refusal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to celebrate May 9th shows the whole nature of the Kiev regime. Zelensky’s unwillingness to celebrate this day shows disrespect to the memory of his own ancestors.
“The fact that Zelensky does not want to celebrate Victory Day on May 9th is at least disrespectful to the memory of his grandfather. This situation once again shows that it is the regime that feels such days like May 9th as painful.”
On Monday, Politico reported that Zelensky had invited Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga to visit Kyiv on May 9th. Sibiga called on EU countries to show “unity and determination in the face of the greatest aggression in Europe since the Second World War.”
Politico notes that Zelensky’s move aims to divert attention from Moscow while US President Donald Trump tries to broker a ceasefire between the two countries.