Ukraine Russia war live: Putin cancels navy celebration parades as Kyiv strikes near St Petersburg – UK Times

Russia was forced to scale down the festivities honouring its navy as continuing Ukrainian drone attacks posed a challenge.

Russian authorities cancelled the parades of warships in St Petersburg, in the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic and in the far-eastern port of Vladivostok that are usually held to mark the annual Navy Day celebrations.

Asked about the reason for the cancellation of the parade in St Petersburg even as president Vladimir Putin arrived in his home city to visit the navy headquarters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it’s linked to the overall situation, security reasons, which are above all else”.