Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce.
More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive, which has killed tens of thousands of people.
Photo: Reuters
“Together with our Chinese friends, we firmly stand on guard of historical truth, protect the memory of events of the war years and counter modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism,” Putin told Xi in a meeting in the Kremlin.
Russian society has seen unprecedented militarization during the Ukraine conflict and the Kremlin has tightly controlled the memory of World War II.
Putin claimed that his offensive against Ukraine is aimed at “de-Nazifying” the country, which Kyiv called “incomprehensible.”
Xi told Putin that Beijing stood alongside Russia in the face of “hegemonic bullying” — a nod to the two countries’ anti-US stance.
“In the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying behavior, China will work with Russia to shoulder the special responsibilities of major world powers,” Xi said.
Ahead of the meeting, Putin called Xi his “dear friend,” while Xi referred to the Kremlin leader as his “old friend.”
Putin ordered his army to stop firing on Ukraine for three days to mark the celebrations — an order that came into effect at midnight.
However, Ukraine, which dismissed the ceasefire as theatrics and never said it would abide by it, said Russia had broken its own order after just a few hours.
Ukrainian authorities said Moscow launched an aerial bomb attack on the northeastern Sumy region overnight.
“During the night, the enemy intensified tactical aviation strikes using guided aerial bombs in the Sumy region,” Kyiv’s air force said.
However, it said that as of 8am, “no missile attacks or attack drones were recorded in Ukrainian airspace.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy repeated his call for an unconditional 30-day full ceasefire — a US proposal he previously accepted, but that was rejected by Putin.
Zelenskiy denounced Moscow’s World War II commemorations as a “parade of cynicism” and renewed calls for support against Russia.
“Just as it did 80 years ago, when it finally became clear to everyone: evil cannot be appeased. It must be fought. Together. Resolutely. With force. With pressure,” he wrote on social media.
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