Putin hosts massive Victory Day parade with thousands of troops as threat of Ukrainian strike looms despite ceasefire
Guests of honour include China's President Xi Jinping at what Russia has promised will be the "biggest ever" show of pomp and military might.
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The main event will be a decadent military parade in Red Square, right next to the Kremlin, which is designed to rally patriotism and support for the war.
The event - celebrating the defeat of Nazism in WW2 - is a key part of Russia's national identity.
The arrival of so many heads of state, including Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is a major PR coup for Moscow, and a chance to show the West that its efforts to isolate Russia have failed.
A three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine began on Wednesday.
But Ukraine has dismissed the truce as a farce and slammed today's events a "parade of cynicism".
It also warned that it cannot guarantee the safety of world leaders attending.
As the parade kicked off this morning, a string of foreign leaders were seen arriving at the Kremlin.
President Vladimir Putin was seen greeting Xi and some of the other two dozen foreign leaders.
Taking the mic, Putin said: "We remember the second world war. Our duty is to defend the dignity of the soldiers of the Russian army."
He also vowed to continue fighting "Russophobia".
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