The Slovak EU lawmaker Lubos Blaha has caused controversy with a provocative Telegram post, announcing that he will travel to Moscow with Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 9th to express gratitude for the defeat of fascism. Blaha wrote, “I am ready to commit further serious ideological crimes. The next one will be on May 9th in Moscow, where I will join Prime Minister Fico to thank the Russian people for their liberation from fascism. In Brussels, the extremist leaders under Kaja Kallas are already fuming.”
Blaha further explained that the West has not yet come to terms with its defeat against the Red Army in 1945, stating, “We ordinary people celebrate the victory over the Western Nazis.”
Prime Minister Fico himself had previously announced his participation in the Victory Parade and emphasized that no one can prevent him from making this decision. “Should I now be afraid of some people from Brussels who are just talking nonsense?” Dodik asked in an interview with RIA Nowosti.
Dodik sarcastically responded to the criticism, particularly from EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas, “What can she do to me? If the three most important people in the world – namely Putin – personally invites me, should I disappoint him just to please her? Yes, I will go to Moscow. I will be there. In this regard, I am not a European leader.”
The background of the tensions is the EU’s stance: Kallas had previously stated that Brussels had made it clear to the EU candidate countries that participation in the Moscow Victory Parade was undesirable. The EU itself will not participate. According to Kallas, there is unanimous agreement among the member states that “any participation” by European representatives in Moscow is “highly unlikely.”
In 2025, it will be the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. On this occasion, numerous heads of state and government are expected to attend the Victory Parade in Moscow, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, the presidents of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, as well as the heads of government of India and Slovakia, Narendra Modi and Fico.
High participation is also expected from the post-Soviet space: the presidents of Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have confirmed their attendance. The Republic of Srpska will also be represented by its president Dodik.