Moscow, May 8, (dpa/GNA) – Despite a recent incident in which two drones were shot down over the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the annual May 9 military parade on Red Square as planned.
“Trommorow the president will really make an appearance at the parade,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.
Moscow officials announced earlier that security will be tightened ahead of celebrations, which mark the 78th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Last week, two drones crashed over the Kremlin grounds at night. Russian officials have claimed the drones were launched by Ukraine in an attempt to kill Putin but were shot down by air defences.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the incident.
A handful of international observers have suggested that Russia may have staged the alleged attempted attack itself.
There has been some speculation that the military parade might be cancelled in the wake of the attack.
The traditional march of the “Immortal Regiment,” which is usually held after the parade, has already been cancelled. Peskov said the event, which Putin attended in 2022, was cancelled due to security concerns.
Peskov said it remained to be decided whether festivities this year will still include an air show or whether that, too, would be cancelled. There was no air display in 2022, which the Kremlin attributed to bad weather.
According to Russian media reports, more than 20 other cities in Russia have cancelled this year’s Victory Day parades out of security concerns.
In addition to the drone incident at the Kremlin, other attacks by suspected partisans on transport and oil refineries have increased recently in several regions of Russia.
GNA