The Normandie-Niemen monument was unveiled at the Lefortovo Park in southeast Moscow as part of a two-day Russian visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who arrived on Tuesday.
"We are unveiling the memorial as a sign of our sincere affection for the Russian and French soldiers and officers who fought side by side against Nazism," Putin said.
In turn, Sarkozy said: "The monument points to the great relationship between the people of our two countries." He added that the monument had been built out of respect for all those who had fought against fascism.
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, who also attended, called the monument a symbol of friendship between the two countries.
2007 marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the WWII fighter squadron Normandie-Niemen.
The group initially consisted of French fighter pilot volunteers sent to aid Soviet forces on the Eastern Front. A joint unit, consisting of 72 French volunteers and 17 Soviet air mechanics, was later formed in Ivanovo, central Russia, in early December 1942.
The squadron fought in three campaigns on behalf of the Soviet Union between March 22, 1943, and May 9, 1945, destroying 273 enemy aircraft.
A similar monument was unveiled at Le Bourget near Paris last year.
