Along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev also took part in the celebrations.
The heads of state laid wreaths at the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier in Kiev’s Park of Eternal Glory.
Celebration events continued in the evening in the Ukraine National Palace.
The participants in the celebrations observed a minute of silence in honour of those who gave their lives during World War II.
A military parade took place on Kiev’s main thoroughfare, the Kreshchatik, with some 8,000 veterans and members of Ukraine’s Armed Forces taking part.
Following the parade, the Presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan expressed their best wishes to those who took part in the liberation of Ukraine and had their photographs taken with veterans.