Moscow, Mar 26 (IANS): Russia will hold large-scale military parades across the country on May 9 to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

More than 12,500 troops, over 190 units of weapons and military equipment, and 76 aircraft will join the main military parade on Red Square in Moscow, Xinhua news agency quoted Shoigu as saying on Thursday.

In addition to Moscow, military parades will be held in another 27 cities of the country, involving more than 47,000 soldiers, about 1,600 units of military equipment and over 200 aircraft, he said.

Celebrations with the participation of troops will be conducted in 377 cities and towns on Victory Day, he added.

Victory Day marks when the Nazi Germany signed an Act of Unconditional Surrender in a suburb of Berlin on the night of May 8, 1945, Berlin time, which was the early hours of May 9 Moscow time.

It marked the end of the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, an integral part of World War II lasting from 1939 to 1945.

The catastrophic war claimed about 27 million lives of people from the Soviet Union, according to official statistics.