As the coronavirus pandemic worsens, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would postpone its May 9 celebrations including a huge military parade across Red Square to mark 75 years since the Soviet victory in World War Two.

Iran PressEurope: The "risks associated with the epidemic, whose peak has not passed yet, are extremely high," Putin said on Thursday. "This does not give me the right to begin preparations for the parade and other mass events now,” according to The Moscow Times.

He said the event would be held later in 2020.

Russia celebrates the Soviet Union's victory over the Nazis each year on May 9 with a massive military display that includes thousands of troops and tanks parade through Red Square and military jets fly in formation over the capital.

Russia has confirmed almost 28,000 cases of coronavirus since the outbreak of the virus. Officials say 232 people have died.

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