Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday paid tribute to the fighters from China, the U.S. and other countries that contributed to the victory of the World War II in a speech he delivered during the country's annual Victory Day military parade at Moscow's Red Square. 

This year marks the 78th anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany, referred to in Russia as the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

"For us in Russia, the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland is sacred. We cherish it in our hearts, we pay tribute to the members of the resistance who bravely fought against Nazism, the soldiers of the allied armies of the United States, the United Kingdom and other states. We remember and honor the heroism of Chinese soldiers in the struggle against Japanese militarism," Putin said in the speech.

He pointed out that solidarity in the fight against Nazism is an invaluable legacy and a solid foundation for a more just multi-polar world based on the principles of trust and indivisible security, equal opportunities for original and free development of all countries and peoples.

Noting superiority ideology is repulsive, deadly, and criminal, Putin said the Western elites "still talk about their exclusivity, put people against each other and divide society, and provoke bloody conflicts and coups." And Russians, like vast majority of people around the world, want to "see the future peaceful, free and stable," he stressed.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the parade.

Putin said the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States' gathering in Moscow was very important, which demonstrated "a grateful attitude to the deed of our ancestors."  "All the peoples of the USSR contributed to the common victory," he added.

This year's parade in Moscow involved over 8,000 troops, including 530 soldiers of the special military operation, and more than 100 items of military hardware, according to Russian media agency TASS.

(Cover: Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2023. /CFP)