2020 Minsk Victory Day Parade

• Massed Bands of the Minsk Garrison (9 bands, 7 from the military and 2 from the MVD)
• Corps of Drums of the Minsk Suvorov Military School
• Cadets from specialized military high schools (25 from the MES, 30 from the MVD and 50 from the army)[6]
• Color guard carrying the Flag of Belarus, the Flag of the USSR, the Victory Banner, and the banners of the 1st Belarusian Front, the 2nd Belarusian Front, the 3rd Belarusian Front and the 1st Baltic Front
• Historical Troops
• Military Academy of Belarus
• Communications Faculty of the Military Academy
• Faculty of the Rocket Troops and Artillery of the Military Academy
• Technical Faculty – Belarusian National Technical University
• 120th Guards Mechanised Brigade
• Belarusian Air Force
• Company of women servicemen of the Armed Forces
• State Border Committee Training Institute
• Cadets of the Internal Troops College of the Military Academy of Belarus
• Interior Ministry Troops (31st Independent Special Forces Brigade)
• Company of women policemen of the Belarusian Police
• Emergencies Ministry National University of Civil Defense
• 38th Guards Air Assault Brigade
• 103rd Guards Airborne Brigade
• Honor Guard of the Armed Forces of Belarus (exhibition drill)

A mechanized column consisting of 180 military equipment was paraded before the stands, while the air show involved 40 aircraft and helicopters.[7]

Parade formations from Russia and China were planned to be participants, until the spokespersons of both military departments cancelled their participation.[23][24] On 5 May, Lukashenko invited international leaders to attend the parade. He said: "I invite all heads of state, at least those from the former Soviet Union, to come to Minsk and attend this parade."[25][26] The day after this statement was made, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he would not travel to Minsk for the parade.[27] In a video conference with Presient Lukashenko, Moldovan President Igor Dodon expressed how "impressed" he was by the fact that the parade was still able to go on.[28] Lukashenko also was open to the presence of Russian deputies and senators who expressed a desire to attend the parade in Minsk, saying that "We welcome this" and that "We don’t close the doors from our friends and brothers".[29][30] The ambassadors of the following 18 countries attended: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Iran, North Korea, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Palestine, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, Tajikistan, the UAE and Serbia. In addition, the chargés d'affaires of Sudan, Libya and Pakistan, and the Permanent Representative of Russia to the CIS, Andrei Grozov were in attendance. One of the attendees was Slovak Ambassador and former Speaker of National Council of the Slovak Republic Jozef Migaš, who resigned later on as a result of his attendance.[31]

Dissagreements with the government's stance came in the form of public criticisms and expressions of concern. Belarusian opposition leader Gennady Fedynich compared the parade to holding "a feast during the plague".[32] Other criticisms came from prominent opposition leaders such as Stanislav Shushkevich, Mikhail Chigir. On May 9, 2020, dozens of supporters of belarusian blogger and activist Syarhei Tsikhanouski held an "Anti-parade" in Babruisk to express their disagreement with the Victory Day Parade in Minsk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protest parade took the form of a protest motor rally. Police detained about 15 people after the motor rally.[33][34] Syarhei Tsikhanouski was in detention in that moment.

The World Health Organization attributed the rising rate of infections in the country to the "lack of adequate social distancing measures" and urged the government cancel the parade.[35] The day of the parade saw and increase of case by 1271 people, with the trend staying the same over the next couple of days. On 13 May, NEXTA reported a total of 27,717 cases with a daily gain of 1,369.[36][37]

In the Western media, the parade gave the appearance of an attempt to upstage the Moscow celebrations. The contrasting messages from both countries clashed when the Belarusian government accused Channel One Russia correspondent Alexei Kruchinin and his cameraman of spreading fake news about the virus in Belarus.[38] On 6 May, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov refuted allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized Lukashenko for holding the parade, calling them "unreliable wild speculations".[39] Investigative journalist Ihar Tyshkevich suggested that one of the motives for holding the parade was to fight Russian propoganda about the country that had increased in the previous year.[40]