Russian Authorities Begin Canceling May 9 Parades Over Fears of Ukrainian Strikes

In Russia, local authorities are beginning to cancel May 9 parades due to fears of strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Moscow Times reported on this.

According to the governor of Krasnodar Krai, Veniamin Kondratyev, this year’s parade will not be held in Krasnodar for security reasons.

According to him, the decision is related to the high risk of air attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“There will be no parade in Krasnodar because the parade will take place in Novorossiysk. It’s simply too risky – air raid alerts are issued almost every night,” Kondratyev said.

He added that the decision was made jointly with law enforcement agencies and the representatives of the army of the aggressor state.

It’s worth noting that military and industrial facilities in Novorossiysk itself — a city located on the Black Sea coast — have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian aerial and naval drones.

The publication notes that the cancellation of May 9 celebrations in Russia this year is not unique.

In 2024, parades were canceled in one out of every four regions of the aggressor country.

Such decisions have primarily been made in regions that have been regularly attacked by Ukrainian drones.

Among these regions are the Lipetsk, Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions. In Moscow itself, the parade took place last year, but in a reduced format.

“Russian territory began to be shelled by the Armed Forces of UKraine after the start of the full-scale war launched by Vladimir Putin in February 2022. Prior to the beginning of the large-scale combat operations, there were no attacks from Ukraine on Russian territory,” The Moscow Times emphasized.