70th anniversary of the Great Victory

MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – The army parade dedicated to the 70^th anniversary of the Soviet nation’s victory in the Great Patriotic War has begun in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

Taking part in the parade are over 5,000 military personnel and about 250 wheeled and tracked vehicles. As one of the peculiarities of the parade the parade commander and the parade inspector will review the troops using new open-top parade cars made by the People’s Republic of China specifically for the occasion.

Today 19 parade detachments of military personnel will march in parade ranks before Minsk residents and guests on foot. They will be followed by 24 parade detachments of military hardware. Drummers of the Minsk military academy named after Suvorov have been chosen to open the parade on foot.

In addition to Belarusian army units the parade will also feature military personnel and army hardware of Belarus’ main strategic ally — the Russian Federation. The Russian army will be represented by military personnel of the 76^th guards air assault division that took part in liberating Belarus from the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War.

The mechanized part of the parade will begin with army vehicles made in the 1930-1940s that survived the first onslaught of the Nazi at the start of the war and made an important contribution to the Great Victory. They will be followed by the best army hardware of the post-war years.

In the skies above Minsk spectators will be able to see an aerobatic show featuring modern combat helicopters and aircraft of the Belarusian and Russian Air Forces.

The parade will end with a marching drill show of the guard of honor company of the military commandant's office of the Belarusian army and a performance by the combined army orchestra.