Vladimir Putin seen cosying up to Chinese leader during parade as Russia marks Victory Day

Vladimir Putin gave a high-profile seat at a massive military parade in Moscow to celebrate Victory Day where he gave no signs of compromise over the Ukraine conflict.

marked the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in with the traditionally grandiose event in Red Square on Friday where notably Xi was seen sitting next to Putin as they watched the soldiers, tanks and other weaponry on display. Victory Day, which is celebrated in Russia on May 9, is the country's most important secular holiday.

A Red Square parade and other ceremonies underline Moscow's efforts to project its global power and cement the alliances it has forged while seeking a counterbalance to the West amid the conflict that has dragged into a fourth year.

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As well as Xi there was a slew of other foreign leaders including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico - which is being seen as particularly disappointing to the West’s aims to isolate Russia as his country is a member of the .

Also on Friday, EU foreign ministers will in Lviv to show support for Ukraine, and European leaders meeting in Oslo are expected to do the same. For Putin, the attendance of 's Xi on Victory Day is seen as a major achievement, and he praised the "courageous people of China" as he paid tribute to Russia's allies in World War Two.

Speaking at the parade, Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, saying that “we are proud of their courage and determination, their spiritual force that always has brought us victory”.

The Russian leader has declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire starting Wednesday to coincide with the Victory Day celebrations, but warned that Russian troops will retaliate to any attacks. Moscow has been reluctant to accept a US-proposed 30-day truce that Ukraine has accepted, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and Kyiv’s mobilisation effort, conditions Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected.

Putin addressing the crowds at the Victory Day parade said: “Today we are all united by the feeling of happiness and sorrow, pride and gratitude, we admire the generation that defeat Nazism at the cost of millions of lives. They have gained freedom and life for the whole of humanity. As those who have inherited this victory, we celebrate the holiday of May 9 as our own. The main holiday for all of our people.”

He also spoke of how currently Russian society is “supporting the participants in the special military operation” as he refers to the Ukraine war. Putin also repeatedly makes wild claims that the war in Ukraine is a fight against Nazism.

And he continued in his speech telling how Russian soldiers in WW2 saved “our 1,000 year history, everything that is dear to us, everything that is sacred”, which is a line he has used for the reason behind the invasion of Ukraine.

Putin also said: “We remember the lessons of WW2 and we will never settle with distorting that truth, our duty is to defend the dignity of the defenders and the soldiers of the Russian army. Representatives of different ethnicities who will remain in the history for ever as Russian soldiers. Russia was and is an unsurmountable barrier for Nazism, anti-Semitism and anti-Russian feeling. Russia will continue fighting those who continue to perpetrate these crimes.”

World War II is a rare event in the nation’s divisive history under communist rule that is revered by all political groups, and the Kremlin has used that sentiment to encourage national pride and underline Russia’s position as a global power.

The Soviet Union lost a staggering 27 million people in what it calls the Great Patriotic War in 1941-45, an enormous sacrifice that left a deep scar in the national psyche.

Festivities this year were overshadowed by Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and severe disruptions at the capital’s airports. Russian flag carrier Aeroflot on Wednesday morning cancelled more than 100 flights to and from Moscow, and delayed over 140 others as the military were repelling repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on the capital.

Russian authorities tightened security ahead of the parade and mobile phone internet outages have been reported amid electronic countermeasures aimed at foiling more potential drone attacks.