Today, May 9, marks the Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II. This year the great date is overshadowed by a new war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The civilized world has abandoned the celebrations. However, a traditional military parade is planned for Victory Day in Moscow. In addition, a new wave of escalation of the conflict, which the Kremlin regime decided to do on May 9, is expected.
On May 9, Russian cities will hold parades, the "Immortal Regiment" actions, concerts and fireworks.
Red Square in Moscow will be the center of the celebration. But this year, the military parade will be on a smaller scale, as fewer machines and people will be involved.
Moscow's May 9 parade will be held without foreign guests. Alexander Lukashenko, a supporter of Putin, will not be present at the celebrations in Moscow.
The Kremlin stated that no one has been invited to the celebrations, as "the date is not an anniversary.
During the festivities on Red Square, the Russian president will make a speech. On this symbolic date for the Kremlin regime, Vladimir Putin is expected to make some big statements.
Western experts believe the Kremlin is using the May 9 parade for propaganda purposes.
British Minister Ben Wallace expressed the opinion that on Victory Day Putin might declare war to "fight the Nazis of the world" and launch a mass conscription of citizens for a decisive strike against Ukraine.
Prime Minister Denis Shmygal also said that according to partner intelligence services, Russia intends to officially declare war on Ukraine on May 9. Earlier, the Ukrainian intelligence reported about preparations for mobilization in the Russian Federation.
At the same time, military analysts believe that the declaration of war will plunge Russia into even greater isolation.
And the possible mobilization of Russians will not bring the expected results, because this process takes a long time, requires large resources and may cause unrest within society.
The accession of the unrecognized republics "DPR" and "LPR" may also be announced at the May 9 parade. According to the version described by CNN, Putin will try to "sell" to Russians as a "victory" the incorporation of the occupied Ukrainian territories in the east into Russia.
With the war in Ukraine, there will be no mass events to celebrate Victory Day. The center for countering disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council warned of a high risk of increased rocket attacks and shelling of cities on May 9. People are urged to be especially attentive to reports of air-raid alarms.
"Since Russian troops cannot boast of significant achievements on the front before Victory Day, there is an increased risk of massive shelling of Ukrainian cities these days," the agency said in a statement.
In addition, a heightened curfew has been imposed in a number of cities for security purposes.
Against the background of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, many countries cancelled traditional May 9 events this year, including post-Soviet countries.
It is worth noting that European countries celebrate the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Fascism in World War II on May 8, the day on which the German surrender act was signed.