A military parade commemorating the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War took place on Red Square in Moscow. Representatives of all branches and services of the Russian Armed Forces marched across the cobblestones. For the first time, personnel from the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) forces participated in the parade. The only foreign participants in the parade were soldiers and officers from the DPRK army who had fought in the Kursk region.

Immediately after the parade's foot parade concluded, the Cuban Diamond aerobatic team appeared in the skies above the capital, flying Su-30 and MiG-28 fighter jets, along with a formation of six Su-25 attack aircraft, which painted the sky in the colors of the Russian flag.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with foreign leaders and representatives, laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Following the parade on Red Square, the head of state and his guests proceeded to the Alexander Garden to the Eternal Flame near the Kremlin Wall. The heads of Abkhazia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Laos, and other countries also laid flowers alongside the Russian leader.