The Kremlin has revoked the accreditations of foreign media outlets for the May 9 military parade in Moscow. This was reported by Der Spiegel, whose journalists also lost their invitations to the event.
“The format of the parade coverage was changed in light of the situation. Therefore, foreign media that had already been promised accreditation are no longer being admitted,” a Kremlin staff member told the magazine.
According to Der Spiegel, accreditations were also withdrawn from the German media outlets ARD and ZDF, the British broadcaster Sky, the news agency AFP, the Italian television channel Rai, and the Japanese broadcaster NHK.
The publication said foreign outlets had previously received invitations and a program of events in central Moscow for Victory Day. Der Spiegel emphasized that this was the first time accreditation had been revoked during the entire history of the May 9 military parade in Moscow.
Who is expected to come to Moscow
This year, those expected to arrive in Moscow for Victory Day include the presidents of the unrecognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Badra Gunba and Alan Gagloev, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, Malaysia’s supreme ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, as well as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. The latter, however, stressed that he does not plan to attend the military parade.
Leaders of the Republika Srpska, an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, are also due to come to Moscow.
Yury Ushakov, an aide to Vladimir Putin, said the Kremlin had not sent invitations to foreign leaders, but that they themselves had expressed a desire to visit Moscow on Victory Day.
What the parade will look like
The parade on Red Square this year will, according to the Kremlin, take place without military hardware for the first time in 19 years. The Kremlin said the decision was made “because of Kyiv’s terrorist activity.” At the same time, marching military columns and aircraft will still take part. A speech by Vladimir Putin is also expected.
In addition, mobile internet and communications in Moscow will be restricted on May 9. Residents were informed of this by Beeline, MTS, and Megafon, and the information was later confirmed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.