MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. The Kremlin will consider postponement of the Victory Parade in Moscow from May 9 to a later date at the request of organizations of WWII veterans, Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
"This appeal will be considered," he said.
Peskov said earlier that no decisions on postponing the parade and other Victory Day celebrations had been taken as yet but did not rule out that this matter would be looked at.
Earlier in the day, Russian organizations of veterans appealed to President Vladimir Putin to adjourn the May 9 parade in Moscow until the situation with the coronavirus spread normalizes. "On behalf of the entire veterans’ community, we ask you to make a difficult, but, as we believe, a fair decision to hold a military parade on another date when, in accordance with the epidemiological situation, the parade will not be a threat, but truly a triumph of peace and security for all its participants," the statement reads.
The statement was signed by heads of a number of organizations, including the Heroes’ Association, the All-Russian Public Organization of Veterans of War, Labor, Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies and the All-Russian Public Organization of the Armed Forces’ Veterans.
To date, a total of 24,490 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 1,986 patients having recovered from the virus. Russia’s latest data indicates 198 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.