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Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for joining celebrations to mark 80 years since the “sacred” victory over Adolf Hitler in World War Two.

Xi’s presence at this week’s anniversary celebrations in Russia provides an important boost for the Kremlin leader, who has falsely portrayed his war in Ukraine as a struggle against modern-day Nazis from the start.

Ukraine and its allies reject that characterisation as a grotesque falsehood, accusing Moscow of conducting an imperial-style invasion.