Russia Announces Victory Day Parade Schedule, Again Urges Countries to Timely Evacuate Personnel from Kyiv

On May 7, Xinhua News Agency reported from Moscow that Russian presidential aide Ushakov announced the main schedule for the Victory Day parade commemorating the Great Patriotic War, which will be held in Moscow on the 9th, and once again called on governments around the world to pay close attention to the statement issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense, urging the timely evacuation of relevant personnel from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

According to the Russian news agency today, Ushakov introduced that at around 9:45 AM local time on the 9th (2:45 PM Beijing time), the Russian side will hold a welcoming ceremony for foreign guests, with President Putin in attendance, who will then proceed with the foreign guests to Red Square for the parade.

Ushakov stated that on the 9th, President Lukashenko of Belarus, President Thongloun of Laos, Prime Minister Fico of Slovakia, the Malaysian Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ibrahim, and President of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, will visit Russia.

Ushakov indicated that Putin will deliver a speech during the parade, and the foot troops and aerobatic teams will be reviewed. Putin will also lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near Red Square together with foreign representatives and veterans of the Great Patriotic War.

Ushakov mentioned that on the 6th, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had sent a note to various countries, urging them to take the statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense seriously and to evacuate relevant personnel from Kyiv in a timely manner. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 4th that if the Ukrainian side attempts to implement plans to disrupt the Victory Day celebrations, the Russian military will launch a large-scale retaliatory strike on the center of Kyiv.

On the 4th, Russia announced a ceasefire from May 8 to 9 to commemorate the Victory Day of the Great Patriotic War on May 9, hoping that the Ukrainian side would follow suit. Ukrainian President Zelensky subsequently announced that Ukraine had decided to unilaterally implement a ceasefire starting from midnight on the 6th and called on the Russian side to take genuine measures to end the war.

The Kremlin stated at the end of April that the scale of the parade on Red Square on May 9 would be reduced, and for security reasons, military equipment would not be displayed.