Russia Scales Back Navy Day Events Amid Ukrainian Drone Attacks

Russian authorities significantly reduced Navy Day celebrations on Sunday, canceling traditional warship parades in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, and Vladivostok due to ongoing Ukrainian drone attacks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the decision was made for "security reasons, which are above all else."

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defenses intercepted 99 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions, with an additional 51 drones shot down near St. Petersburg later in the day. Local officials said drone fragments killed one person and injured three others in the St. Petersburg region. The threat also led to the suspension of dozens of flights at the city's Pulkovo airport.

During a visit to St. Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin received reports on recent naval exercises involving 150 warships and pledged to strengthen Russia's naval capabilities. He visited the Admiral Grigorovich frigate to commend its crew for repelling a drone attack earlier in the day, stating that the navy's combat power would reach "a qualitatively new level."

The scaling back of Navy Day events comes as Ukraine continues to target Russian military assets with drones, including a June 1 strike that damaged or destroyed bombers at multiple Russian air bases. These attacks have forced Russia to redeploy parts of its fleet and have impacted its ability to conduct operations from Crimea.

Meanwhile, Russia continued its own drone and missile strikes on Ukraine. In the northeastern city of Sumy, a drone attack damaged infrastructure and left three people wounded, while other incidents in the region resulted in additional casualties, according to Ukrainian authorities.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, later stating that France would continue to support Kyiv and increase pressure on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire and pursue peace talks.