Russia's Navy Day Sees Ships Replaced With Giant Banner of Vessel
Newsweek · C · trust 34/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Russia's annual Navy Day was canceled for the second year running with President Vladimir Putin instead greeting marines in front of a large image of a vessel rather than the real thing, prompting mockery online.
Putin uses the annual event, which takes place on the last Sunday of July, to showcase Russia 's maritime might, involving warships sailing down St. Petersburg's Neva River, naval parades and aircraft flypasts.
But the fanfare was canceled this year with Russian defense ministry sources telling St. Petersburg news outlet Fontanka that no orders were given to organize a parade and a Navy spokesman telling the outlet "it's not the right time."
The Kremlin said last year's event was canceled because of security concerns. While that was not given as an official reason this time, Ukrainian drones have hit targets in Russia's second city, which is usually well covered by air defenses.
The city came under fire on July 24, as Ukraine launched another strike on sites linked to online retailer Wildberries , sending thick clouds of smoke into the sky and grounding commercial flights.
Instead, Putin delivered a much smaller address to sailors inside the Admiralty, the Navy headquarters in the city and footage showed him greeting the marines standing to attention in front of an image of a submarine, which pro-Ukrainian social media users made fun of.
Ukrainian X channel Military News UA posted how in Russia "a parade took place on Navy Day, but without the fleet itself. Instead of real ships, there were huge banners with their photos."
The news outlet Nexta posted the same footage on X, adding: "Putin embarrasses himself on the world stage again! So-Called Navy Day Celebrated with a Painted Submarine on a Wall."
"The Kremlin has already scrubbed the blunder from its official websites—but the internet never forgets," added the Nexta post,
"The cameraman is probably in Kolyma by now," users joked after watching the footage, referring to the location of an infamous Gulag from Soviet times.
Ukrainian outlet United 24 Media posted: "Putin threw himself a Navy Day parade without a fleet. Instead, he settled for a giant printed picture of a submarine."
Jürgen Nauditt, a pro-Ukrainian X user who posts about the war wrote: "The Russian Federation's Navy Day parade took place without the fleet—a fact that starkly illustrates the actual state of the Russian navy."
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.
Putin still used the day to repeat Kremlin rhetoric about the war he started in Ukraine. He said that the Russian Navy plays a vital role in achieving Moscow's war goals in Ukraine and is a key element in ensuring Russian global security.
He also said Moscow would protect its interests on the Northern Sea Route and ensure the security of Kaliningrad against any threats , referring to the exclave seen as a flashpoint should any hostilities between Russia and NATO break out.
Putin acknowledged the cost of the war but signaled that high military spending would continue.
"We are now forced to allocate a lot of resources—and this is justified—to ensure the success and achievement of the goals of the special military operation," he said.
Washington, D.C., think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed comments by Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev on Sunday about how Russia would develop unmanned systems regiments in the Northern Fleet.
The ISW said the plan was aimed "in part to protect Russian vessels from intensified Ukrainian strikes against Russian naval assets in the Black and Azov seas."
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