MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — China’s Xi Jinping was in Moscow on Thursday for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce.

More than 20 foreign leaders are in Russia to attend a vast military parade on Friday marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshalled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive, which has killed tens of thousands of people.

In a meeting in the Kremlin, Putin told Xi: “Together with our Chinese friends, we firmly stand on guard of historical truth, protect the memory of events of the war years and counter modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism.”

Russian society has seen unprecedented militarization during the Ukraine conflict and the Kremlin has tightly controlled the memory of World War II.

Putin claimed that his offensive against Ukraine is aimed at “de-Nazifying” the country, which Kyiv called “incomprehensible.”

Russia has captured swathes of Ukrainian territory and flattened cities and towns across the east with daily bombardments, forcing millions to flee their homes.

Xi told Putin that Beijing stood alongside Russia in the face of “hegemonic bullying” — a nod to the two countries’ anti-United States stance.

“In the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying behavior, China will work with Russia to shoulder the special responsibilities of major world powers,” Xi said.

Ahead of the meeting, Putin called Xi his “dear friend,” while Xi referred to the Kremlin leader as his “old friend.”

Theatrics truce

Putin has ordered his army to stop firing on Ukraine for three days to mark the 9 May celebrations -— an order that came into effect at midnight.

But Ukraine, which dismissed the ceasefire as theatrics and never said it would abide by it, said Russia had broken its own order after just a few hours.

Ukrainian authorities said Moscow launched an aerial bomb attack on the northeastern Sumy region overnight.