Russian navy parade cancelled for 'security reasons'

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 each year and honors the country's sailors. But local authorities in the coastal city of Saint Petersburg, where the warships and submarines were scheduled to pass, said on Friday the parade had been cancelled without giving a reason. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who re-established Navy Day in 2017 nearly four decades after it was cancelled in Soviet times, did not show up in person this year for the first time. Instead, he appeared in a video message hailing the "bravery" and "heroism" of Russia's sailors participating in the offensive in Ukraine. Russia, which launched its military operation on Ukraine in February 2022 with daily bombardments of its neighbor, has faced retaliatory Ukrainian droneWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times