Russia does not rule out canceling the May 9 parade: the reason is well known

In Russia, reports are circulating about the possible cancellation of the military parade until May 9 due to the threat of strikes by Ukrainian long-range weapons, but the Kremlin denies this.

The Moscow Times and Meduza report this.

Back in early April, Russian pro-war bloggers began writing that the parades in Moscow and St. Petersburg might not take place. Blogger Ilya Tumanov, in particular, stated that holding the event amid a possible air raid sirens posed serious risks and could have a negative media impact.

According to him, the airborne portion of the parade had allegedly already been cancelled, and the ground rehearsal planned for April 5 could have been cancelled—the military had been returned to their permanent deployment locations “for special instructions.”

There have also been reports of the possible cancellation of the parade in Kaliningrad, but there has been no official confirmation of this.

At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that preparations for Victory Day celebrations are ongoing.

Russian authorities have not yet announced any official decisions to cancel the parades.