Serghei Shoigu announced how many soldiers will participate in the May 9 parades in Russia / A T-34 also appeared at the rehearsals in Moscow – VIDEO

More than 150,000 soldiers and about 2,500 combat vehicles will take part in military parades to be held on May 9 in more than 20 cities in Russia to mark the 79th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, Russia’s defense minister said on Friday. Serghei Şoigu, reports EFE, taken over by Agerpres.

Shoigu announced in a meeting with the leadership of the Russian army that military and naval parades will take place in 25 cities in Russia, and soldiers stationed in local garrisons will participate in another 314 events.

“In total, about 150,000 people and 2,500 weapons and combat vehicles will participate in the Victory Day demonstrations. More than 9,000 people and 70 combat vehicles will participate in the main parade in Red Square,” he said.

Units of various types of weapons will parade in Red Square, as well as cadets from the Suvorov military and Nahimov naval academy, the Army Music Academy, military women and Cossacks, the Russian minister added.

In addition, participants in the Russian military campaign in Ukraine will march in the parade, which will end with an air force parade.

Şoigu announced that the dress rehearsal for the parade will take place on May 5, the cited source also reports.

A T-34 also appeared at the rehearsals in Moscow

Other rehearsals took place the other days, in one of them the parade was led by an “antique” T-34 tank, according to a video clip shared by RIA Novosti.

“This year’s parade is expected to be very different from 2023, which took place in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with almost no modern heavy equipment, no flyovers (by fighter jets) and few soldiers participated,” notes OSINTdefender, a reputable defense-focused X platform account.