The Russian-backed separatists in Lugansk and Donetsk have been making preparations for military parades to mark Victory Day on May 9 – the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War 2. As part of this, large convoys of Russian heavy weaponry have been on the move in both cities, in direct violation of the Minsk agreements. Responding to the OSCE’s reiteration that the parades would violate Minsk, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), told the pro-Kremlin ‘Federal News Agency’ site today: “…the parade is an internal affair of the republic, having absolutely no relation to the OSCE. I don’t forbid the holding of gay parades in Berlin.” As we have reported previously, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) noted the deployment of five 9K35 Strela-10 surface-to-air missile systems in Lugansk on April 19. This was the largest single grouping of such anti-aircraft weapons in one place that we have seen in the conflict so far. All five Strela-10s, in addition to numerous 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, armoured personnel carriers and towed artillery, were out in Lugansk on May 1, as seen in the video below:

We can verify the location of the video, on Oboronnaya Street, near the junction with Shelkovo Street, by comparing the scene with images from Yandex Panorama:

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Meanwhile photos were posted today on a pro-separatist LiveJournal account showing rehearsals for the Donetsk parade. Once again we can see Strela-10s and Gvozdikas, in addition to T-64 and T-72 tanks and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles:

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Meanwhile, although at a vastly reduced pace following the ‘Easter truce’ that came into effect on Sunday, fighting continues in the Donbass. Claims as to the level of the violence vary depending on the source. The Ukrainian military’s official report this morning described only five attacks yesterday. According to the report, grenade launchers and small arms were used in attacks on Ukrainian positions near Zaytsevo and Luganskoye, both near Gorlovka, while RPGs were used to attack positions in Maryinka, west of Donetsk. But Dmitry Tymchuk, a Ukrainian MP and military analyst who heads the Information Resistance group, claimed that Russian-backed fighters had actually used 120 mm mortars at least once, to shell positions near Nevelskoye, northwest of Donetsk. In the south, Tymchuk said, ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft artillery had been used several times to attack Ukrainian positions near Grantinoye, east of Volnovakha. In addition, Tymchuk reported machine gun and small arms fire near Rassadki, southeast of Gorlovka, and Shirokino, on the coast. According to Colonel Andriy Lysenko, military spokesman for the Presidential Administration, one Ukrainian soldier was wounded yesterday by small arms fire near the Svetlodarsk reservoir, east of Gorlovka. In addition, the identity of a Ukrainian soldier who was killed on May 1 as a result of a grenade launcher attack in this same area was made public. Roman Svirzhevskiy was 21 years old. His body is due to be returned to his home in Rivne today.

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