Only four leaders will come to putin's possible parade

Leaders from only four countries will travel to the capital of the aggressor state, russia, on May 9 to participate in events marking Victory Day. The kremlin press service announced this on May 7.

It is reported that the leaders of the following countries will arrive in moscow:

• Belarus — self-proclaimed President Aleksandr Lukashenko;
• Slovakia — Prime Minister Robert Fico;
• Malaysia — Supreme Leader Ibrahim Ismail;
• Laos — President Thongloun Sisoulith.

Also, at the kremlin’s invitation, the leader of unrecognized Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, will arrive in moscow with his wife, as will the leader of unrecognized South Ossetia, Alan Gagloev.

Also on May 9, the head of the Republika Srpska (an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina), Siniša Karan, will be in moscow. He will be accompanied by the speaker of the entity’s parliament, Nenad Stevanović, and his wife, as well as the leader of the “Union of Independent Social Democrats” party of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, and his wife.

Last year, leaders from nearly 30 countries, including China and Brazil, attended similar events in moscow.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on April 28, the russian Ministry of Defense announced that the May 9 parade on Red Square in moscow would take place without military equipment due to the “current operational situation.” The last time this happened was in 2007.

And on May 4, the russian Ministry of Defense stated that russia had declared a ceasefire for May 8 and 9 to hold propaganda events in moscow. Following this, Ukraine repeatedly stated that Kyiv had not received any official proposals for a ceasefire.

In response, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine was implementing a ceasefire, which began on the night of May 5–6. The aggressor country violated the ceasefire by continuing its offensive on the front lines and attacking Ukrainian cities.

As a reminder, on May 6, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing its own sources, that Kyiv sees no reason to observe the ceasefire announced by russia.

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