Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the "grandest" ever annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday, evoking the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine.
Russia marks the event more than three years into its offensive, and after it pummelled Ukraine with a string of deadly attacks in April despite US President Donald Trump pushing for a peace deal.
The Kremlin launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since become embroiled in a huge, bloody conflict that has killed tens of thousands.
Officials promise that commemorations this year -- the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis -- will be the "grandest" to date.
Putin has ordered a three-day truce in Ukraine to coincide with the event -- which Kyiv has denounced as a ceasefire "just for the parade".
During the 25 years of Putin's rule, the Kremlin has turned May 9 into a holiday celebrating statehood and patriotism. It is marked with a grand military parade on Red Square, where Putin addresses the nation.
Putin has used WWII narratives to justify sending troops to Ukraine, vowing in 2022 to "de-Nazify" the country and since comparing the current conflict to the Soviet war effort.
He has repeatedly accused the West of not recognising Moscow's feat in WWII and argued that the Soviet Union was the war's main victor.
Ahead of celebrations, Putin singled out the Russian nation for praise out of all Soviet peoples in defeating the Nazis.
"All the peoples of the Soviet Union put in a huge input... But, of course, because of its size, the Russian Federation, of course, put in the maximum contribution to this victory," he told school children in Moscow last week.
Moscow's streets have been decked out with the Russian tricolour, while the vast majority of shops and restaurants have put up posters urging people to "remember" and show their "pride" in the Soviet victory.
'Great Patriotic War'
World War II is officially remembered in Russia as the "Great Patriotic War", beginning with Germany's surprise invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and ending with Germany's capitulation in 1945.
The period between 1939 and 1941 -- when the Soviet Union had a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany and invaded Poland -- is glossed over in official history books.
The war had a devastating impact on the Soviet Union, resulting in more than 20 million civilian and military deaths.
Throughout his rule, Putin has tapped into this national trauma, making May 9 Russia's most important public holiday and championing his army as defenders against fascism.
Authorities banned criticism of the military days after the Ukraine offensive began, and have since charged thousands in the biggest domestic crackdown in Russia's post-Soviet history.
School textbooks introduced amid the offensive refer to Ukraine as an "ultra-nationalist state", likening it to the Nazi-occupation regime that ruled the country between 1941 and 1944.
In a speech announcing the offensive, Putin said the Russian army aimed to "de-Nazify" the country, a claim Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called "incomprehensible".
Ukraine has criticised the event, saying it has "nothing to do with the victory over Nazism" and that those marching on Red Square were "quite likely" implicit in crimes against Ukrainians.
North Korea
Leaders of around 20 countries, including China's Xi Jinping, have accepted invitations to join this year's celebration, according to the Kremlin.
Moscow has also not ruled out that North Korean troops -- which helped Russia oust Ukrainian forces from its Kursk region -- will parade on Red Square for the first time.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he would also be in Moscow for the occasion, despite the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas warning countries from the bloc against attending.
Moscow's Victory Day parade featured only one tank last year for the second year running, in what Atlantic Council analyst Peter Dickinson wrote was a reminder of Russia's "catastrophic losses" on the battlefield.
Authorities in some parts of Russia, including the southern region of Krasnodar, have cancelled May 9 parades amid fears of possible Ukrainian sabotage.
Security will be especially tight in Moscow, where organizers have banned attendees from bringing vape pens, electric scooters or "any animals" to the parade.
Last year, residents in the capital reported major disruption to satellite navigation in what experts suggested was evidence of GPS jamming to thwart drone attacks.
Just days ahead of the festivities, a major Ukraine drone attack overnight on Tuesday forced airports to restrict traffic and sent debris falling on a major avenue in southern Moscow without causing injuries.
With AFP
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