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Russia invites PM Narendra Modi to ‘Victory Day’ parade marking end of WW2
Apart from PM Modi, Russia has also invited leaders of several other friendly nations to attend this year’s Victory Day parade at the iconic Red Square.
The Russian deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko announced on Tuesday that Moscow has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the May 9 celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Germany in World War II.
Rudenko told news agency Tass that an invitation to PM Modi has already been sent out and that he is expected to be in Russia next month for the event.
"It's being worked out, it should be this year. He has an invitation," Rudenko said to the news agency.
Apart from PM Modi, Russia has also invited leaders of several other friendly nations to attend this year’s Victory Day parade at the iconic Red Square in Moscow.
The invitation comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to make a trip to India later this year. PM Modi had invited Putin to come to India during his trip to Russia in July 2024, which the Russian leader accepted. The exact dates of the visit are yet to be announced.
In 2024, PM Modi went for his first trip to Russia in five years after he previously visited the far eastern city of Vladivostok in 2019 to attend an economic conclave.
Putin and PM Modi maintain regular contact, holding telephone conversations once every couple of months. The two leaders also hold in-person meetings, particularly on the sidelines of international events.
Why does Russia celebrate Victory Day on May 9?
The Soviet Union fought with the allied forces against Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany in the World War 2 after the latter invaded the former in 1941 under the codename ‘Operation Barbarossa’
After a bloody battle to defend their own territory for several years, the Soviet army launched a counteroffensive against Germany in January 1945. The commanders-in-chief of the Wehrmacht, along with the Luftwaffe signed an unconditional surrender on May 9, a move that ended the war in Europe, months before Japan surrendered to the US to officially bring curtains to world war 2.
