Putin says Russia passed COVID-19 peak, orders WWII victory parade on June 24

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 26 that the nation has passed the “peak” of the coronavirus infections, ordering to hold the postponed World War II victory parade in June. Putin told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to begin the preparations for the parade which was earlier planned for May 9, marking 75 years since the victory over Nazi Germany and said that it will now be held on June 24 when historic victors' parade took place in 1945.

Russian has recorded 362,342 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 3,807 deaths so far with 8,915 new infections reported on May 26. Russia has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases across the globe, only behind the United States and Brazil. The exponential surge in COVID-19 cases forced the Russian President to postpone the parade but he had promised that the nation will celebrate it on a “grand scale”.

“We will have the main parade on Red Square, and the people’s Immortal Regiment march to show our gratitude and the unbreakable and living bonds of kinship linking generations,” said Putin while addressing the nation on May 9.

On May 22, Putin held a meeting, via conference, on the situation of coronavirus in the country where he claimed that the rate of cases has declined over the week. He said that the volume of testing increased by nearly 3 million over the past week with an average of 240,000 tests every day.

“The hidden danger lies in the fact that the disease may not be detected promptly and an asymptomatic person will not be warned about the threat to their own health and to that of their loved ones,” said the Russian President.

Read: Putin Reveals Russian Education Minister Tested Positive For COVID-19

Referendum pending

The coronavirus pandemic has also forced Putin to postpone key public voting on the sweeping constitutional reforms which will give the Russian leader an option to run for two more terms. The proposal was sent to the Russian Constitutional Court which cleared it to let Putin stay in power beyond term limits. The referendum on the proposal was set to be held on April 22 but was postponed due to the rising cases of coronavirus in the country.

Read: Vladimir Putin's Approval Rating Plunges To Historic Low As COVID-19 Grips Russia

(With agency inputs / Image: AP)