Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with WWII veterans and representatives of military-patriotic organizations, and lay a wreath to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in downtown Moscow on Sunday.
The events will be held prior to the May 9 celebrations, one of whose key episodes will be the Victory Parade on Red Square on Monday morning. The parade will be attended by Medvedev.
Victory Day that Russia celebrates on May 9 marks the final defeat of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union in World War II. This year, the 66th anniversary of the Soviet victory is marked.
This year's parade will involve 20,000 servicemen and over 100 pieces of military hardware, including Topol-M ballistic missile launchers, S-400 Triumf air defense systems, Pantsyr-S1 air defense systems, Iskander-M missile launchers, Smerch multiple rocket launchers, BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, and T-90 main battle tanks.
The event will culminate in a flyover by a group of Mi-8 multirole helicopters carrying Russian state and military flags. The Moscow authorities have allocated about 102 million rubles ($3.7 mln) on preparations for the Victory Day parade.
MOSCOW, May 8 (RIA Novosti)
