Fontanka: Main naval parade cancelled in fear of attacks
Preparations for the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg were stopped earlier this week, allegedly for security concerns, Fontanka reports.
There will be no nuclear submarines or surface warships on display at Kronstadt or at the Neva River the last Sunday of July this year, the normally well-informed Fontanka newspaper reports.
Preparations were stopped a few days ago, according to the newspaper.
Ukraine has in recent weeks stepped up strikes at military facilities in Russia by long-range drones and drones launched from inside the country. Earlier this week, deputy head of the Navy, Maj. Gen. Mikhail Gudkov, was killed in a missile strike in the Kursk region.
Except 2024, the big warship parade in Kronstadt has been arranged annually since 2017, the year Putin by Decree reestablished the pre-1980 Navy Day as an official holiday.
Celebrations were supposed to take place on July 27.
One or two nuclear-powered submarines from the Northern Fleet have traditionally sailed south to participate. That changed in 2023 when no submarines form the north participated.
Last year, the two submarines Tambov and Kazan were on their way into the Baltic Sea, but suddenly made a last minute cancellation, allegedly because of drone fears.
Neither the Kremlin, nor the war ministry have confirmed the halt of the Main Navy Parade. There are no information yet about Navy Day celebrations at the other fleets' headquaters; Vladivostok, Murmansk, Kaliningrad and Sevastopol.
