Russia cuts its celebrations to honor its naval forces as Ukraine launches more drone attacks
Russia narrowed its celebrations on Sunday to celebrate its navy’s celebrations as Ukrainian drone attacks continue to challenge the Kremlin.
Russian authorities canceled the St. Petersburg parade in the Kalininggrad region of the Baltic Sea and the far-end port of Vlakivostok, which are often held to commemorate the annual Naval Day celebrations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the reason for canceling the march in St. Petersburg, i.e.
The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense measures shot down 99 Ukrainian drones overnight. Later that day, officials reported that more drones were hit near St. Petersburg. According to local authorities, a woman was injured by drone debris in the Lomonosov region.
Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg suspended dozens of flights earlier on Sunday due to drone threats.
On a trip to St. Petersburg, Putin visited the historic Admiralty building and received a report of the four-day naval exercise that ended Sunday. July’s storm exercise involves 150 warships from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean.
Putin vowed to build more warships and strengthen naval training, adding: “The navy’s strike capability and combat capability will be improved to a new level of quality.”
The reduction in the scale of Naval Day celebrations reflects Moscow’s concerns about Ukraine’s sweeping drone attacks across the country.
Earlier in the fourth year of war, Ukraine sank several Russian warships in the Black Sea, weakening Moscow’s naval capabilities and forcing it to re-unite from Russian-occupied Crimean forces to Novorossiysk.
In the bold June 1 attack, Ukraine used drones to hit several Russian air bases, from the Arctic Kora Peninsula to Siberia, hosting long-range bombers in Russia. The drones were launched from trucks placed secretly near the base, which left Russian troops humiliated to strike the Kremlin.
The raid was destroyed or damaged many of the bombers Moscow used to launch air attacks on Ukraine, providing a significant morale boost to Kiev when Kiev’s unmanned personnel and insufficient troops faced a 1,000-km front (600 miles).
Russia continued to strike on Ukraine with drones and missiles on Sunday.
In Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, a drone attack damaged civil infrastructure objects, an administrative building and non-residential premises, injuring three people. Elsewhere in the area, two men died after being bombed by landmines and another woman was injured in a drone attack on another community in the area.
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