Russia hosts parades of warships in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, and Vladivostok. However, all these events were canceled, including the parade in St. Petersburg, despite President Vladimir Putin visiting the navy headquarters there. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that the cancellations were driven by "overall security reasons."

The Russian Defence Ministry reported that air defenses shot down 99 Ukrainian drones overnight, with additional drones intercepted near St. Petersburg. A woman was injured by drone fragments, and flights at Pulkovo Airport were suspended due to the drone threat.

Meanwhile, Putin visited the Admiralty building in St. Petersburg to review reports on the recent naval exercises called July Storm, which involved 150 warships from the Baltics to the Pacific. He pledged to increase naval shipbuilding and training, aiming to significantly enhance Russia's naval combat capabilities.

The decision to reduce Navy Day festivities reflects Moscow’s heightened concern over Ukrainian drone attacks. Since the beginning of the four-year-old war, Ukraine has targeted Russian naval assets, sinking several ships in the Black Sea and damaging key bases. In a notable June 1 operation dubbed ‘Spiderweb,’ Ukraine deployed drones launched from trucks to strike Russian airbases across Russia, damaging or destroying long-range bombers. This attack was a major blow to Russian military morale, as it targeted aircraft vital for Ukraine strikes and revealed weaknesses in Moscow’s defenses, further escalating tensions in the ongoing conflict. (The Gleaner)