Rossia-24 is now showing Putin's pre-parade speech again. Here are some quotes in English:
"Today, in marking this sacred anniversary, we once again acknowledge all the grandiosity of the victory over Nazism. We are proud that it was our fathers and grandfathers who were able to overcome, defeat, and destroy this dark force."
"The Soviet Union took on itself the fiercest blows of the enemy. Here is where the Nazis' best forces were concentrated. Here were concentrated all their military might. Here took place the largest and most decisive battles of World War II. And it is just that it was the Red Army that, as a result of the shattering storming of Berlin, brought to a victorious conclusion the war with Hitler's Germany."
"The Great Victory will always remain the heroic peak of the history of our country. But we remember our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition as well. We are grateful to the peoples of Great Britain and France, the United States of America for their contribution to victory. We are grateful to antifascists of various countries who selflessly fought in partisan units and the underground. Including in Germany itself. We remember the historic meeting of allies at the Elbe. [We remember] that trust and unity, which became our common heritage, an example of the coming together of peoples for the sake of peace and stability."
"In recent decades the basic principles of international cooperation have been increasingly often ignored. Those principles, which were based on the suffering of humanity after the global trials of war. We have seen efforts to create a monopolar world. We have seen how military bloc mentalities have grown stronger. All this is shaking the foundations of peaceful progress."
"Our common task must be to work out a system of equal security for all states. Systems that are adequate to meet modern threats, that are built on regional and global foundations, rather than military alliances. Only then can we establish peace and calm on the planet."
"We bow down before all who fought to the death on every street, in every house, in every corner of the Fatherland. Those who died in the fierce battles of Moscow and Stalingrad. In the Kursk salient and on the Dnieper. Those who died of hunger and cold in unbowed Leningrad. Those who were tortured in concentration camps, as prisoners, under occupation. We bow our heads before the sacred memory of the sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, men, women, brothers, sisters, fellow servicemen, family members, and friends. Those who did not return from the war. Those who are not here today."
President Putin and world leaders are now placing flowers by the eternal flame and the grave of the unknown soldier near the Kremlin walls.
The official Kremlin website has posted video and a Russian-language text of President Putin's Victory Day speech.
The parade in Moscow is now officially over and Putin is shaking hands with senior military officers.
Here are a few images from earlier today at the parade in Moscow:
Here are some snippets from President Putin's pre-parade speech courtesy of Interfax:
MOSCOW. May 9 (Interfax) - Russia is grateful to the Allies for the
contribution to routing Nazism, President Vladimir Putin has said.
"The great victory will always remain the heroic culmination of the
history of this country. But we also remember our Allies," he said at
the parade in Moscow's Red Square on the 70th anniversary of V-Day.
"We are grateful to the people of Great Britain, France and the
United States for their contribution to the victory. We are grateful to
the antifascists in many countries that selflessly fought in partisan
units and in the underground, including Germany itself," he said.
Putin stressed that international organizations formed after World
War II laid the foundation of the post-war world order and demonstrated
their effectiveness.
"We remember the historic Elbe Day meeting of Allies. The
confidence and unity that became our common legacy. The example of the
unification of nations for the sake of peace and stability. It was these
values that formed the core of the post-war world order," he said.
It was then that the United Nations was set up and the system of
modern international law formulated.
"These institutions have proved their effectiveness in settling
disputes and conflicts," the Russian president stressed.
We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
If you read Russian, Kommersant has a really impressive historical project of the last days of the Battle of Berlin. Worth bookmarking.
Here's a reminder for latecomers who love airplanes:
Russia's Rossia-24 state television is showing the Moscow Victory Day parade live from Red Square. You can watch it here.
Russia's Channel One state television has the parade live here.
The military vehicle section of the parade in Moscow is now over and they are moving to the air parade, beginning with a Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber.