Things are not going so well for Russia

Russia's 2025 Victory Day Parade drew significantly fewer high-profile international attendees than the previous year, with only leaders from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan present, compared to 2024's lineup that included China's Xi Jinping and Brazil's Lula. The diminished diplomatic turnout reflects Russia's stalled military advance in Ukraine, economic contraction to 1 percent projected growth, and erosion of influence in its former sphere—exemplified by Armenia's pivot toward EU integration and US-brokered peace negotiations with Azerbaijan, signaling Moscow's weakening position in the post-Soviet region.