Burc Eruygur
09 May 2026•Update: 09 May 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday hosted separate talks with his Belarusian, Kazakh and Uzbek counterparts in Moscow, ahead of his Victory Day celebrations on Saturday.
According to statements by the Kremlin, Putin expressed his gladness to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for their arrival in Moscow on the eve of Victory Day.
Victory Day is observed May 9 in Russia and several former Soviet republics to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany in World War II, which Russia calls the Great Patriotic War.
Russia will hold an annual military parade in Moscow’s Red Square on Saturday to mark the occasion.
A Kremlin statement issued Thursday listed leaders expected to attend the celebrations, including Lukashenko, though it had not included Tokayev and Mirziyoyev.
The visit by the Kazakh and Uzbek presidents to Moscow for Victory Day celebrations was announced earlier Friday by their respective presidential media services.