Vladimir Putin directs the commemorations of the Russian victory day with a parade on the red square and increased security after the days of Ukrainian strikes targeting the capital.
Chinese President Xi Jingping is one of more than 20 international leaders who have made the trip to Moscow.
A three-day unilateral ceasefire was announced by Russia to coincide with the sumptuous 80th anniversary event, which Ukraine rejected as a “theatrical show” designed to protect the parade.
The army of Ukraine said that it had undergone thousands of attacks since the entry into force of the ceasefire on May 8. Russia insisted that the ceasefire is observed and accused of a hundreds of violations.
In the days ahead of the proposed truce, Moscow and Kyiv exchanged a strike dam.
Flights to Russia airports were canceled and some 60,000 passengers were blocked In the wake of Ukrainian drone attacks.
Strong restrictions are in place in the center of Moscow while Russia is preparing to mark the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany.
Russia claims that 27 world leaders attend the event, thousands of soldiers walking in the Red Square before a parade of some of the last weapons in Russia.
Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva of Brazil and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are among the guests gathered, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Robert Fico, the Slovaquian Prime Minister who is the only head of the European Union to go to Moscow.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned that he could not guarantee the security of anyone attending the event and urged the heads of state not to go to Moscow.
Mykhailo Samus, a Ukrainian military analyst and director of the new geopolitical research network, told the BBC that he thought that Ukraine would give up the attack on the parade, largely because of the presence of foreign leaders.
But if Ukraine chose to do so, this would constitute a legitimate military target, said Samus.
During his evening speech on Thursday, Zelensky said that Ukraine was “ready for a full ceasefire starting now”.
“But it must be real,” he said in a video on X. “No missiles or drone strikes, no hundreds of assaults on the front.”
He called on Russia to support the ceasefire and “prove their will to end the war”.
Ukraine accused Russia of having violated its own truce thousands of times because it was to come into force on Wednesday evening.
On the second day of the truce, Ukraine said that there had been nearly 200 clashes along the front line, eighteen Russian air strikes and nearly four thousand bombing instances by Russian troops.
In Prymorske, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, a woman was killed after a Russian drone hit her car.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that all Russian forces in Ukraine “completely ceased combat operations and remained on the previously occupied lines and positions.” However, they reacted “like a mirror” to the violations of the Ukrainian forces.
Zelensky has repeatedly rejected Putin’s proposal as a “game” and called for a longer truce of at least 30 days, which is supported by the allies of Ukraine in Europe and the United States.
He said he spoke with American President Donald Trump to repeat his preparation for a “long and lasting peace” and speak “in any format”. He said he told Trump that a 30-day ceasefire was a “real indicator” to go to peace.
Writing on Truth Social Thursday, the American president reiterated the call to an unconditional ceasefire and warned new sanctions for any part that did not register.
