Cities from London to Moscow will be awash with parades, flyovers and memorials this week as the world marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day — the day Nazi Germany surrendered to Allied forces.

Britain's King Charles and other senior royals are due to join veterans and crowds to watch a grand military parade and flypast at the start of four days of commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.

Members of the British royal family — including King Charles, Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, along with their children George, Louis and Charlotte — were pictured ahead of VE Day.

Russia staged an awe-inspiring military rehearsal ahead of its May 9 Victory Day Parade, marking 80 years since Nazi Germany’s surrender.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the "grandest" ever annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday, evoking the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine.

The Russian war machine is gearing up to roll through Moscow’s Red Square on Friday for the annual Victory Day Parade, offering the Kremlin the chance to brandish its military might to Ukraine and its Western allies.