“I must say that we cannot cancel the parade. Just can't. I thought about it for a long time. Of course, this is an emotional, deeply ideological thing, ”the head of state said during the meeting.
Lukashenko urged to remember that the participants in the war "were dying, perhaps, from viruses and other diseases," however, "they did not feel it at times and did not think about it."
“And think what people will say. Maybe not right away, in a day, two after that, they will say that they were scared, ”he said.
The Belarusian leader added that “you don’t need to drag anyone to this event”, although “thousands and thousands of people want this event to take place”. He also recalled that in this situation it is important to remember the elderly, for whom "all these infections primarily cling."
“I am very worried that people will not approve if we, scared, scatter around holes. And in general, Belarus is a living monument of that war. And I think that representatives of all states could be present here on this day, ”BelTA agency quoted Lukashenko as saying.
On April 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to change the schedule for the Victory Parade in Moscow and postpone all the celebrations due to the situation with COVID-19 in Russia.
On April 28, he announced that an air parade would be held in the skies over Moscow on May 9, in which planes and helicopters would take part.