Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth will represent India at the Moscow Victory Day Parade to be held on the 9th of May. The Defence Ministry said that Mr. Seth will visit Russia in place of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Earlier, sources from the External Affairs Ministry said that Russia had extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the ceremony. However, the Russian side was informed in advance that the Defence Minister would represent India at the parade.