PUTIN: ‘TRUTH AND JUSTICE ARE ON OUR SIDE’: Declaring the anniversary of victory in Europe in World War II “the most important holiday for the country,” Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a massive military parade in Moscow’s Red Square today, flanked by sympathetic world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Under extreme security measures, including the shutdown of the internet, the parade proceeded under bright sunny skies, with no sign of the threat of Ukrainian drones. In his speech, Putin was quick to equate the war in Ukraine to the defeat of Nazi Germany 80 years ago.