A Rossia-24 announcer just said the parade will have "many, many surprises, especially for veterans." The youngest veteran on Red Square is more than 90 years old, she said, and several are more than 100 years old.
Here are a few images from Victory Day ceremonies in Minsk, which is also hosting a military parade today:
The parade in Moscow today will consist of four main parts -- historical, ground forces, military technology, and aircraft (143 planes and helicopters). Parade is expected to begin in two minutes.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has now appeared to review the parade.
RFE/RL correspondent Glenn Kates is in the eastern Ukrianian city of Kharkiv. He reports tense exchanges among people marking Victory Day there, with pro-Russian participants chanting "Thank you, grandfather, for victory," while pro-Ukraine participants chant "Glory to Ukraine."
Follow Glenn on Twitter here.
Defense Minister Shoigu has declared the parade ready and President Vladimir Putin has approached the podium.
Putin congratulates soliders and all on the occasion of Victory Day. Now he is thanking the Allies -- France, Britain, the United States, by name -- for their contributions to victory.
Now is criticizing the "folly" of creating unipolar world or relying on military blocs.
A military parade is also being held in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, which is controlled by Russia-back separatists:
For the first time ever at a Victory Day parade, Putin has declared a minute of silence.
Here is a snip from Interfax's coverage:
"We pay homage to everyone who fought to the bitter end for every
street, for every house, for every boundary of the fatherland. Who died
in brutal fighting near Moscow and in Stalingrad, on the Kursk Bulge and
on the Dnepr. Who died of hunger and cold in unconquered Leningrad. Who
was tortured to death in concentration camps, in captivity, under
occupation," he said reviewing the parade in Moscow's Red Square on the
70th anniversary of V-Day.
He said the nation bows to the memory of everyone who did not
return from the war.
"A minute of silence is being declared," he said.