Russian Navy Day parade cancelled for ‘security reasons’

Russia’s annual Navy Day parade has been cancelled for “security reasons”.

The large-scale, televised parade, due to take place on Sunday, usually features a flotilla of warships and military vessels sailing down the Neva River and is attended by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.

Russia has not released the specifics of the threat or concern, but Ukrainian drones targeted St Petersburg on Sunday, where the parade was due to take place, forcing the airport to close for five hours.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said: “[The cancellation] has to do with the general situation. Security reasons are of utmost importance.”

It is the first time the parade has been cancelled since its inception in 2017, according to state media. In 2024, Russia suspected Ukraine would target the parade, which prompted organisers to reduce the scale of the procession.

Putin arrived at the city’s historic naval headquarters on Sunday by patrol speed boat, from where he followed drills involving more than 150 vessels and 15,000 military personnel in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and Baltic and Caspian Seas.

“Today, we are marking this holiday in a working setting, we are inspecting the combat readiness of the fleet,” Putin said in a video address.

The parade was meant to be the highlight of Russia’s Navy Day, which falls on the last Sunday of July each year and honours the country’s sailors.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Sunday that air defence units downed 291 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, below a record 524 drones downed in attacks on May 7, ahead of Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9.

A woman was injured by falling debris, on Sunday, when 10 drones were downed in the Leningrad region surrounding St Petersburg, Alexander Drozdenko, its governor, said.

Pulkovo airport was closed during the attack, with 57 flights delayed and 22 diverted to other airports. It resumed operations later on Sunday.