Social media videos uploaded by pro-Russian media have shown parades and ceremonies in several Russian-occupied Ukrainian towns to mark Victory Day.
A procession in the town of Enerhodar, in Zaporizhzhia, which has been in Russian hands since the beginning of March, appears to have been attended by several hundred people.
Another rally in Nova Kakhovka, in the Kherson region, filmed by state Russian outlet RIA Novosti, appears to have been thinly attended.
The official media outlet of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic reported on a rally in Kherson city, saying: “Citizens came in families, carrying portraits of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers who fought during the Great Patriotic War and who liberated Kherson region from fascists.”
There was also a rally in Berdiansk and events in several other towns. None appear to have been attended by more than a few dozen people, according to videos uploaded by the separatist Donetsk channel PRO Republic.
At one event, a few people were seen sitting in a square as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech was broadcast on large screens.
