St. Petersburgs Navy Day Parade Scrapped Amid Heightened Security Risks

The Kremlin confirmed on Sunday that the annual Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg has been canceled due to security issues. This announcement came just days after local officials first stated the event was off, only to later retract that statement.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed journalists that the parade would not proceed as intended because of the “overall atmosphere” and “security concerns,” although he did not elaborate further.

On Friday, St. Petersburg’s authorities initially declared the event’s cancellation, but they later amended their statement, indicating they did not have the jurisdiction to comment, as the parade is organized by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Earlier reports by the local news source Fontanka, citing familiar sources, indicated that this year’s Navy Day celebrations would be significantly scaled down, replaced with a wreath-laying ceremony and other events at Palace Square.

On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in a video message, commending the “courage” and “heroism” of the Russian Navy personnel engaged in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

“We commemorate this holiday in a working environment,” Putin remarked later, addressing Russian military members involved in extensive naval drills called “July Storm.”

These exercises, which commenced earlier this week in the Baltic and Caspian seas, as well as the Arctic and Pacific oceans, included over 150 ships and more than 15,000 troops, according to Putin.

“Our primary objective is to secure Russia and staunchly defend our sovereignty and national interests,” Putin stated while visiting St. Petersburg on Sunday.

The St. Petersburg Navy Day parade in 2024 occurred on July 28, though part of the festivities planned in the nearby port city of Kronstadt was also canceled due to security fears.

At that time, reports indicated that Russian security agencies had alerted of a potential attack on naval vessels participating in the parade.

The New York Times noted that then-U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin engaged in two phone calls with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov following warnings from Russian intelligence about possible covert Ukrainian operations tied to the scheduled parade.

The gravity of that warning prompted Austin to reach out to Ukrainian officials, advising them against any possible attacks.

The inaugural St. Petersburg Navy Day parade was held in 2017, with smaller parades usually taking place in Vladivostok and Kaliningrad.

Reporting by AFP has contributed to this coverage.