MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday a major annual navy parade had been cancelled for “security reasons”, without specifying the threat or concern.

“It has to do with the general situation. Security reasons are of utmost importance,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies.

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

But local authorities in Saint Petersburg, where the warships and submarines were scheduled to pass, said the parade had been cancelled without giving a reason.

Celebrating holiday in working atmosphere, Putin says

In a video message, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who re-established Navy Day in 2017, nearly four decades after it was cancelled in Soviet times, hailed the “bravery” and “heroism” of Russia’s sailors participating in the offensive in Ukraine.

“We are celebrating the holiday in a working atmosphere,” Putin said later on Sunday to Russian forces involved in large-scale naval manoeuvres called “July Storm”.

The drills, launched earlier this week in the Baltic and Caspian seas as well as in the Arctic and Pacific oceans, involved more than 150 ships and over 15,000 troops, President Putin said.

“Our main task is to ensure Russia’s security and firmly protect the sovereignty and national interests,” he said.

Russia, has faced retaliatory Ukrainian drone strikes on its territory in recent months. The Russian defence ministry said on Sunday that 100 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight.

At least 10 of them were intercepted not far from Saint Petersburg and a woman was wounded, the governor for the northwestern Leningrad region, Aleksandr Drozdenko, said on Telegram. That drone assault also disrupted operations at Saint Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, delaying dozens of flights, the authorities said.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2025