Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Great Patriotic War veterans on Red Square on May 9 before the start of the Victory Day parade.

The Russian leader personally greeted the honored guests, shook hands with each of them and spoke with them before the ceremony began. The oldest among the veterans was Kirill Semenov, a native of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, who will turn 103 this year.

One of the veterans handed Putin an envelope containing a message. The president thanked him and placed the letter in the inside pocket of his jacket.

The Victory Day parade on Red Square features marching parade units of servicemen from military educational institutions representing all branches and arms of the Russian Armed Forces.

Foreign leaders and representatives of foreign delegations arrived for the ceremony. Among the guests were Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Abkhazian leader Badra Gunba and his wife, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Malaysian Supreme Ruler Sultan Ibrahim, South Ossetian President Alan Gagloev, Republika Srpska President Sinisa Karan, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska Nenad Stevandic and his wife, as well as Milorad Dodik, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, and his wife.