Russia did not invite foreign leaders to the Victory Parade this year

Russia did not invite the leaders of foreign states to the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“There were no special invitations this year. This is not a round date,” he said (quote according to TASS).

At the same time, on the eve of May 9, the visit of the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov, who decided to stay for the Victory Parade, will take place, Peskov stressed. The Kremlin spokesman also confirmed that Putin would traditionally perform during the parade.

The fact that Zhaparov will most likely be the only guest of this level on May 9, earlier wrote “Vedomosti”.

In 2022, there was not a single foreign leader at the Victory Day parade, which took place 2.5 months after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. As explained in the Kremlin, then it was decided not to invite guests, also indicating that the date is not an anniversary.

“The fact is that this is not an anniversary date. This is our holiday, this is a holy holiday for all of Russia, for all Russians,” Peskov told reporters on April 29, 2022. “But we did not invite foreign leaders.”

Earlier today, Peskov in a conversation with reporters named premature talk about whether the aviation part of the parade on May 9 will take place. “What elements the parade will include, we will inform you in a timely manner. It is premature to talk about it yet,” he said.

A number of Russian regions have decided not to hold the Victory Parade. The first to announce this on April 5 was the Governor of the Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov. He explained this decision by the desire “not to provoke the enemy with a large accumulation of equipment and military personnel in the center of Belgorod.” Cancellations also occurred in the Kursk region, Crimea, Sevastopol, and others.