Putin and other Kremlin officials had hoped to have captured Kyiv and overthrown its government ahead of last year's Victory Day parade. But Ukraine's defences repelled the Russian assault on the capital in the first month, forcing Russian into an embarrassing retreat in a massive blow to Putin.
One year on, and after 14 months of fighting in Ukraine, Russia still has little to show for its military campaign.
Putin's troops have failed to take control of the eastern town of Bakhmut, his military leadership is riven by conflict and Kyiv is again preparing to go on the offensive.
What's more, in the run-up to the sabre-rattling festivities, Russia has witnessed numerous incidents, including explosions derailing trains, fires, a drone attack on the Kremlin and a bombing attack that wounded a fiercely pro-Kremlin writer, Zakhar Prilepin.
For the first time since the Second World War, a sense of vulnerability has been felt in Moscow.
Meanwhile, more than two dozen cities and towns - near the Ukraine border, but also in more distant Russian regions - have cancelled plans to stage their own military parades over security concerns.
Russian media have counted 24 Russian cities that cancelled May 9 military parades - the staple of celebrations across Russia - for the first time in years.
The Immortal Regiment processions, in which crowds take to the streets holding portraits of relatives who died or served in World War II - another pillar of the holiday - have also been canceled in multiple cities.
Regional officials blamed unspecified 'security concerns.' Some speculated, however, that the reason behind cancelling Immortal Regiment marches was the fact that Russians might bring portraits of relatives who died in Ukraine to those processions, illustrating the scale of Russia's losses in the drawn-out conflict.
Moscow sought to project a show of force during its flagship parade on Red Square, with top-notch military equipment rumbling through it and leaders of ex-Soviet nations standing beside President Vladimir Putin.
Ahead of the parade, Political analyst Arkady Dubnov said that 'for the first time in many years' Putin will be surrounded at a Victory Day parade by a number of post-Soviet leaders.
'Despite the serious weakening of its global positions after February 24, 2022, Russia remains to a certain extent the metropolis of a former empire whose actions have to be taken into account,' Dubnov said.
The leaders of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Putin's closest ally - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko - are all in attendance.
Tuesday also saw Russia unleash a barrage of cruise missiles on Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, hours before the start of the parade.
The Kremlin's forces launched 25 missiles overnight in a wave of attacks across Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, adding that air defence had successfully destroyed 23 of them.
In a Telegram post, the air force said eight Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from carriers in the Black Sea toward the east and 17 from strategic aircraft.
'As at the front, the plans of the aggressor failed,' Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv's city military administration, said in comments posted on the Telegram messaging app.
Tuesday's attacks - the fifth in May - came a day after Russia launched its biggest drone swarm yet in a renewed air campaign unleashed 10 days ago after a lull since early March.
'(They) try to kill as many civilians as possible - on this day,' Popko said.
He said that according to preliminary information there were no casualties in the attack that was carried out with cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea region.
Falling debris fell on a house in the Holosiivskyi district in the southwest of Kyiv, Kyiv's Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel, adding there were no casualties or much damage.
In the often-targeted Shevchenkivskyi district of central Kyiv debris was found on a road.
'Kyiv stood up again and will stand up in the future!' Popko said.
Pictured: Military officials and other spectators are seen in Moscow's Red Square, watching the Victory Day parade
Pictured: People record videos on their phones as military vehicles drive down a road outside Moscow's Kremlin, May 9
Pictured: Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile systems drive past the Kremlin wall on Tuesday
Pictured: Russian all-terrain armoured vehicles drive past the Kremlin wall after today's Victory Day parade
Pictured: Russian soldiers take part in their country's Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square on Tuesday, May 9
Pictured: Ceremonial soldiers parade during 78th anniversary of the Victory Day in Red Square in Moscow
People take part in the celebrations of Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Vladivostok, Russia May
Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers drive in downtown of Moscow, May 9
Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers drive after a Victory Day military parade on Red Square in Moscow
Russian servicemen arrive to participate in the Victory Day military parade, to be held at Red Square, in central Moscow on May 9
Russian servicemen arrive to participate in the Victory Day military parade, to be held at Red Square, in central Moscow on May 9
A Russian National guard (Rosgvardia) serviceman stands guard at an embankment of the Moskva river opposite the Kremlin prior to the Victory Day military parade, to be held at Red Square, in central Moscow on May 9
Ahead of the parade, Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the mercenary group Wagner, issued a series of blistering, profanity-laced videos, blaming Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov for withholding ammunition amid talk of infighting and rivalries.
His statement appeared to row back from comments hours earlier that initial data showed they had begun to get it.
But Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose forces have spent months trying to capture the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut, added that he did not want to 'spoil' Russia's big Victory Day parade set for 0700 GMT, and would reveal more details afterwards.
'The people who were supposed to fulfil the (shipment) orders have so far, over the past day, not fulfilled them,' Prigozhin said in a video post on the messaging app Telegram.
The Institute for the Study of War has pointed to 'chain of command problems' for the Russian army in Ukraine that cast doubt on Moscow's ability to 'coordinate a coherent theatre-wide defensive campaign'.
Russia and other ex-soviet states celebrate Victory Day on May 9, while most other European countries mark the date on May 8, due to the time difference when Nazi Germany signed to surrender in 1945.
Western nations that celebrate Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) do so to mark the end of all combat actions in the Second World War, which was officially specified as 23:01 Central European Time, which was already May 9 in Eastern Europe.
By contrast, Ukraine commemorated the end of World War II together with Europe on Monday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky vowing that Russian forces would be defeated just as Nazi Germany was beaten in 1945.
The Ukrainian leader said the Kremlin was responsible for 'aggression and annexation, occupation and deportation', as well as 'mass murder and torture'.
SAINT PETERSBURG: A single tank was also seen rolling through Russia's second city in smaller Victory Day celebrations
Pictured: Russian war veterans are seen leaving Moscow's Red Square on Tuesday after the end of the Victory Day parade
A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives past the US embassy after a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia May 9
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes to soldiers as he is driven along Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow on May 9
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his speech during the Victory Day military parade marking the 78th anniversary of the end of World War II in Red square in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 9
Russian military vehicles drive in downtown of Moscow, Russia, May 9
Zelensky said he had submitted a bill to parliament to formally commemorate World War II in Ukraine on May 8.
For years the anniversary was marked on May 9, as it was in Russia and other ex-Soviet countries.
Ukraine will also mark a separate Europe Day on May 9, which promotes peace and unity on the continent, he said.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday to mark the celebration of peace and unity, in a symbolic retort to Moscow's Victory Day parade.
The president of the European Commission travelled on an overnight train from Poland to see President Volodymyr Zelensky and work on Ukraine's quest for eventual EU membership, a reporter on the train said.