List of Victory Day Parades in Minsk
Self-propelled launchers based on ZIL-135 tractors with FKR-2 cruise missiles on board drive past the trade union palace.
On 26 April, by order of Defence Minister Leonid Maltsev, the procedure for the preparation and conduct of demonstration flights was established.
The president's speech preceded the actual parade proceedings, despite the fact there was reportedly poor audibility in spectator seats.
[16] A 20-minute exhibition of military drill by a 148-member honor guard concluded the parade as well as a performance by the Band of the Minsk Garrison led by Colonel Vladimir Ermolaev.
Among the parade formations in the procession were the 86th Communications Brigade and the Border Guard Service Institute, the latter of which was formed just four days prior.
Equipment of the radio-technical troops and mobile command and control systems of the Belarusian military took part in the parade for the first time.
[44] These incentives, which manifested in a recruiting campaign among university students, included academic and dormitory bonuse for members of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences and recovered COVID-19 patients.
"[48][49] The day after this statement was made, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would not travel to Minsk for the parade.
[50] In a video conference with Prescient Lukashenko, Moldovan President Igor Dodon expressed how "impressed" he was by the fact that the parade was still able to go on.
[51] Lukashenko also was open to the presence of Russian deputies and senators who expressed a desire to attend the parade in Minsk, saying that "We welcome this" and that "We don’t close the doors from our friends and brothers".
[52][53] The ambassadors of the following 18 countries attended: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Iran, North Korea, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Palestine, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, Tajikistan, the UAE and Serbia.
In addition, the chargés d'affaires of Sudan, Libya and Pakistan, and the Permanent Representative of Russia to the CIS, Andrei Grozov were in attendance.
On May 9, 2020, dozens of supporters of Belarusian blogger and activist Syarhei Tsikhanouski held an "Anti-parade" in Babruisk to express their disagreement with the Victory Day Parade in Minsk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organization attributed the rising rate of infections in the country to the "lack of adequate social distancing measures" and urged the government cancel the parade.
The contrasting messages from both countries clashed when the Belarusian government accused Channel One Russia correspondent Alexei Kruchinin and his cameraman of spreading fake news about the virus in Belarus.
[61] On 6 May, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov refuted allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized Lukashenko for holding the parade, calling them "unreliable wild speculations".
[62] Investigative journalist Ihar Tyshkevich suggested that one of the motives for holding the parade was to fight Russian propaganda about the country that had increased in the previous year.
