No parades, marches to be held this Victory Day in Crimea

Authorities in both Crimea and Sevastopol have decided not to hold any parades or "Immortal Regiment" marches to mark Victory Day this year, nor will the traditional May 1 marches marking Spring and Labor Day be held in Crimea or Sevastopol due to security considerations, head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov said.

"The authorities of the Republic of Crimea and the Hero City of Sevastopol have made a joint decision not to hold festive marches on May 1, or "Immortal Regiment" marches and a military parade on May 9. This decision was made due to security considerations," Aksyonov wrote on his Telegram channel.

The regional chief executive of Crimea noted in particular that, despite the cancellation of the celebrations, war veterans would not be left unattended. "The local authorities will certainly visit them [the veterans] and congratulate them on Victory Day," he added.

A high ("yellow") terrorist threat level has been declared in areas close to the Crimean Bridge and the border areas of Crimea, as well as within the city limits of Sevastopol. In addition, the same threat level has been set on an indefinite basis in those regions bordering Ukraine in the Central Federal District, i.e. the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions.