Russia cancels Navy Day celebrations amid increased Ukrainian drone strikes
For the first time in nearly a decade, Russia canceled its annual Navy Day celebrations in St. Petersburg and other cities, which were scheduled for Sunday, July 27. With nearly 100 Ukrainian drones shot down by the Russian military between Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the cancellation was “linked to the overall situation, security reasons, which are above all else.”
Drone assault cancels Navy Day celebrations
According to reports, the Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down 51 drones near St. Petersburg. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the city Sunday, despite the canceled events.
A wider drone assault saw 99 Ukrainian projectiles shot down over various regions across Russia, including Moscow, Bryansk Oblast, Smolensk, Kaluga, Volgograd, Rostov, Crimea and others. Those drone strikes caused upwards of 70 flight delays at several airports and disrupted some railway operations.
Later on Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry increased the number of drones it had downed to 291. According to Reuters, the record number of drones Ukraine has launched into Russia sits at 524. That attack took place on May 7, two days before Russia’s Victory Day parade.
Celebrations were also canceled in Kaliningrad and Vladivostok Sunday. Peskov said the decision to cancel the events was made Friday, July 25.
With the exception of scaled-back festivities in 2024, Russia’s Navy Day celebrations have taken place on the last Sunday of July without incident since they were first inaugurated in 2017. The flagship event features a procession of warships and naval vessels along the Neva River.
During a visit Sunday to St. Petersburg’s Main Admiralty, a historic naval outpost, Putin said, “Today we are marking this holiday in a working setting, we are inspecting the combat readiness of the fleet.” A video posted to the Kremlin’s official Telegram account shows Putin at a small naval celebration.
Zelenskyy announces sanctions packages
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had approved two new sanctions packages developed in coordination with Kyiv’s European partners.
The first package targets Russia’s “shadow tanker fleet,” and 53 individuals and groups from Russia, China, Iran and other countries. The second package targets Russia’s military production and more than 90 companies that deal in rare earth minerals and critical metals.
“Maximum sanctions pressure is the most effective argument for Russia to end this war. They are feeling the impact of the sanctions — not only at the level of the Russian federal budget, but also in the lives of Russian regions and in sectors of their economy,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Russia’s decision to start and then prolong this war is a decision to destroy their own economic potential.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
