It’s unclear whether such plans existed in prior years. A cadet selected to participate in the parade told Bereg that, after the drone strike, the cadets were given evacuation plans from Red Square. The attack nevertheless seems to have influenced the Kremlin’s parade plans. (The Russian president wasn’t there, and the authorities claimed that the building sustained no damage.) Moscow blamed the attack on Ukraine’s secret services, but Kyiv denied any involvement. Rehearsals in Red Square were scheduled for May 4 and May 7.īut in the early hours of May 3, two drones attacked Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin residence. In the three months leading up to Victory Day, the Defense Ministry selected military schools and academies to participate in the parade, and the schools themselves then selected their most physically fit and academically successful cadets. Vedernikov added that participants in the “special military operation” who are now hospitalized in the Pskov region hear the sound of fireworks “in a completely different way.” The region plans to use the funds saved on fireworks to buy things “that participants in the ‘special military operation’ need the most.” The governor has also moved the Immortal Regiment procession to an online format. Pskov governor Mikhail Vedernikov said that “security concerns” and “moral and ethical issues” contributed to the decision to cancel large-scale May 9 celebrations. Parades were also canceled in parts of Russia located far from the frontlines in Ukraine - in Kaluga, Ryazan, Oryol, Lipetsk, Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk, Khanty-Mansiysk, Tyumen, Krasnodar, Sochi, and Velikie Luki, among others. On May 9, Russian-appointed head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov posted on Telegram that, “as expected,” Victory Day would only be celebrated again “after the end of the ‘special military operation.’” “I can tell you that there won’t be a parade, so as not to provoke the enemy with a large accumulation of equipment and military personnel,” said Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov on April 5.īy mid-April, the authorities had canceled parades in Sevastopol, Simferopol, and Kerch in annexed Crimea. Soon after, the authorities, citing “security concerns,” were canceling planned parades in Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk - all of which border Ukraine. Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on April 3 that there would be enhanced security measures around the parade, but provided no details. In addition to the flagship event in Moscow’s Red Square, parades were also in the works for 28 other cities.īy early April, those plans were starting to change. As of last March, Russia’s Defense Ministry was still preparing to hold the kind of Victory Day parade Russia had lately become accustomed to: a lavish display, albeit a bit smaller than last year’s, with more than 10,000 service members and 125 pieces of military equipment.
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