As Russia celebrates its 80-year-old victory over Nazi Germany, Putin wants the world to see that despite the new conflict in Europe, he still has friends in high places.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares for his heavily choreographed May 9 “Victory Day” military parade, he’s been clear who’s at the top of his guest list: Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a four-day state visit,

China’s Xi Jinping was in Moscow this week for a state visit before the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia‘s army of launching airstrikes just hours into a supposed truce.