St. Petersburg, Following Moscow, Canceled Military Equipment At The Victory Day Parade
- 29.04.2026, 14:48
There won't even be a restored T-34 tank.
St. Petersburg, following Moscow, has decided to hold the Victory Day parade on May 9 in a truncated format. The event is planned without the traditional passage of military equipment, writes "Fontanka". According to the publication, there will not even be a restored tank "T-34", which in recent years was usually released first. Military cadets will be sent to take part in the parade, but there will be no Nakhimovs, Suvorovs and cadets among them.
On Palace Square instead of three stands will be located only one, and also will not install a viewing platform. Initially it was planned that 5.6 thousand guests would be able to watch the parade live, but their number was reduced 18 times - to 300 people. At the same time, the veterans of "SVO" were invited to the stands. The decision to hold the parade in this form was made at a meeting on security with the participation of the Governor of St. Petersburg and the deputy commander of the Leningrad Military District, specified "Fontanka". On the eve of the Russian Defense Ministry announced that there will be no column of military equipment at the Victory Parade on May 9 on Red Square in Moscow. The previous time the parade in the capital was held without it in 2007.
The Kremlin said that the decision to cancel part of the parade was due to the "terrorist threat" from Kiev. "All measures are being taken to minimize the danger, the parade will be held, but let's not forget all the same that last year it was an anniversary parade. Wide-format, the kind that should be on a round date. This date is not an anniversary date," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Parades without the passage of heavy equipment were held in Russia from 1995 to 2007. Since 2008, missile complexes of the Strategic Missile Forces, armored vehicles and tanks began to pass through Red Square again. The record-breaker was the anniversary parade-2015: 194 units of wheeled and tracked vehicles of different years, as well as 140 airplanes and helicopters. In turn, the anti-record was set by the parade of 2024: 61 units of equipment and only 15 airplanes.
For now, it remains unclear which foreign leaders will attend the 2026 parade. "We will inform later," Peskov promised. Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said several foreign politicians would be Putin's guests, but did not name names. This year Russia marks the 81st anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.