Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled the annual Navy Day main parade in St. Petersburg on July 26, 2026, opting instead to deliver an address to naval personnel at the Admiralty amid ongoing Ukrainian drone strike threats.
The cancellation marks the second consecutive year that Moscow has called off the elaborate naval display, which traditionally featured around 200 warships along the Neva River.
Russian Defense Ministry sources reported that military officials received no orders to organize the main fleet review, with a Navy spokesperson noting that it was not the right time.
During a televised meeting with military commanders, Putin asserted that Western regions of Ukraine would eventually separate from the country, making historical claims about the territory while asserting that Russia was the sole guarantor of Ukraine's territorial integrity.
"I'm certain, by the way, that sooner or later Ukraine will lose these western lands.
And what used to belong to Poland, Hungary, Romania will sooner or later – maybe not tomorrow, not the day after, in a year or two, 10 years, or 15 – but everything will historically fall back into place," said Putin.
The Russian leader also addressed internal Ukrainian politics and claimed that internal conflict was causing division within the country's leadership.
"There was only one guarantor of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and that was Russia.
But they deemed it necessary, possible and beneficial for themselves to declare Russia their enemy, and Russians not a titular nation in Ukraine, which is complete nonsense and rubbish," said Putin.
Putin urged naval personnel to be cautious regarding digital information platforms, cautioning against unverified reports during the ongoing military operations.
The decision to alter Navy Day festivities follows repeated long-range Ukrainian drone strikes targeting critical logistics facilities, including oil terminals and commercial warehouses in the St. Petersburg region, located roughly 1,100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Fleet Updates and New Vessels
During the meeting, senior military officials presented progress reports regarding fleet capabilities, equipment upgrades, and ongoing naval operations supporting the military campaign.
"According to the Navy construction and development plan, 20 ships, vessels and boats have been accepted into service in 2026.
These include the Polyarny, a Project 12700 minesweeper for the Northern Fleet, and the Burya, a Project 22800 small missile ship for the Baltic Fleet," said Alexander Moiseyev, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.
Moiseyev noted that the Burya was prepared in record time and has now been integrated into the defence system for key economic facilities in the Leningrad Region.
Factory repairs to the strategic cruiser Karelia have also been completed.
"By the end of the year, we plan to accept a further 21 units into the Navy, including the first nuclear-powered submarine cruiser armed with the Zircon hypersonic system – the Perm, a Yasen-M-class submarine.
We also aim to complete the repair and modernisation of the nuclear cruiser Admiral Nakhimov and the attack submarine Leopard," said Moiseyev.
Alexander Moiseyev was then instructed to provide detailed situational reports on behalf of the Black Sea, Baltic, Pacific, and Northern fleets.
