SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Victory Day is Russia's most solemn secular holiday. It marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. This year's 80th anniversary has been shadowed, arguably tarnished, by Russia's war in Ukraine. NPR's Charles Maynes attended yesterday's events in Moscow and has this report.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: As he has for the better part of a quarter century, Russian President Vladimir Putin marked Victory Day by presiding over a Soviet-style military parade on Red Square and paying tribute to the more than 20 million Soviets who lost their lives fighting Hitler's armies.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: (Through interpreter) We are all united by the feelings of joy and grief, pride and gratitude, and admiration for the generation that crushed Nazism and won freedom and peace for all humanity.

MAYNES: Putin praised allies, including the West, for aiding in that victory all those years ago, and the Russian leader made only passing reference to the current war in Ukraine or special military operation, as it's known here under penalty of law.

ILYA KILYAKOV: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: "Soon the special military operation will have gone on longer than World War II," notes Ilya Kilyakov (ph), a former conscript we met at the parade. "I think maybe people are a little tired," he adds, explaining Putin's shift in tone. In the past, Putin has argued repeatedly and falsely that the war is a continuation of the struggle against fascism in modern form, and the crowd at Red Square seemed to hold on to that narrative.

YULIA VELIKHOVA: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: "No one in our country doubts we'll have victory again," says Yulia Velikhova (ph) of the Committee of Families of Warriors for the Fatherland. Her eldest son is currently serving in Ukraine.

VELIKHOVA: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: She says seeing soldiers like him marching on Red Square made her heart stop and swell. "This is true strength," she says. "These are real men defending our country."

ALEXEY TALAI: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: Alexey Talai (ph) tells me he's been placed under sanctions by the U.S. and Europe for his role helping, quote, "evacuate" - the West would say abduct - Ukrainian children to neighboring Belarus. "Russia had to invade to defend Russian speakers in Ukraine," he says, adding that fascism is again on the rise in Europe. And then there was lawmaker Alexander Borodai, also under western sanctions for his role in fostering the war in Donbas more than a decade ago, telling me Russia's work in Ukraine was far from done.

ALEXANDER BORODAI: (Through interpreter) The process isn't over. It's still ongoing. Yes, it's taken longer than we thought because of the West's support for Ukraine, and the price has gone up in terms of sacrifice. But we're ready to pay because it's our land.

(SOUNDBITE OF VEHICLES DRIVING BY)

MAYNES: Ukraine hovered over the day's proceedings in other ways. Internet was cut to prevent possible Ukrainian drone attacks, even as weapons used to strike Ukraine, including for the first time Russian drones, were on prominent display in the Moscow parade.

(SOUNDBITE OF MARCHING BAND)

MAYNES: While most Western nations, including the U.S., steered clear of the celebration at Red Square, Putin was joined by more than two dozen world leaders. Several, like Chinese President Xi Jinping, brought their nation's troops to take part in the march.

VLADISLAV DAVANKOV: (Speaking Russian).

MAYNES: Russian lawmaker, Vladislav Davankov, says it showed Western efforts to isolate Russia had failed. "We see delegations from all sorts of countries," he tells me. Says, "we're not alone, and this holiday is important to the whole world."

(SOUNDBITE OF JETS FLYING OVER)

MAYNES: As the parade ended, jets flew overhead, streaking the Russian flags tricolor in the sky, and a military choir broke into song - the tune, "Den Pobedy," or "Victory Day."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY CHOIR: (Singing in Russian).

MAYNES: Whether an homage to the past or present was open to interpretation.

Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LE JOUR DE LA VICTOIRE")

BORIS ALEXANDROV: (Singing in Russian). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.