List of officials attending Moscow parade announced; Central Asian presidents not invited

The Kremlin Press Service has announced the list of heads of foreign delegations who will visit Moscow to attend Victory Day celebrations. The list does not include the leaders of Central Asian countries.

The attendees include:

• Abkhazian President Badra Gunba with his wife;
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko;
• Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith;
• Malaysia’s Supreme Ruler, Sultan Ibrahim;
• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico;
• South Ossetian President Alan Gagloyev.

In addition, three representatives from Republika Srpska, one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are expected to attend the celebrations. They are President Sinisa Karan, Speaker of the entity’s National Assembly Nenad Stevandic, and Milorad Dodik, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats party.

Earlier, it was reported that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had refused to attend the Victory Parade scheduled to be held in Moscow on May 9 this year. It was also reported that this year’s parade had been significantly scaled back due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks. In particular, it will reportedly be held without military equipment for the first time.

Last year, among those who visited Moscow for the 80th anniversary of Victory were Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. At that time, the participation of leaders from 27 states, including unrecognized and partially recognized territories, had been confirmed. At the last moment, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith withdrew from attending. Central Asian leaders, including Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, also attended the 2025 parade.