The Russian military had planned for warplanes to fly over Victory Day parades today in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Samara, and Yekaterinburg. However, these flyovers were cancelled, ostensibly due to bad weather. As Colin Freeman reported today in the Telegraph:
The explanation caused widespread bafflement, with conditions in Moscow were neither rainy nor particularly windy or overcast.
It’s also hard to believe the weather was simultaneously bad all over those four locations, which are long distances apart.
Speculation for why flyovers were canceled includes:
- Putin’s anger at the Russian Air Force’s poor performance in the war.
- Embarrassment. The Moscow flyovers would have featured aging MiG-29s, as newer warplanes are too rare and are needed in the war.
- Worries that one of the aircraft’s pilots could have attacked Putin in a suicide mission.
- Lack of fuel.
- Pilot shortage.
- Fears of Ukrainian sabotage.
Freeman also reports that the Victory Day parade that Russia had scheduled for Mariupol was canceled. It’s a bit hard to believe that Russia would have paraded through Mariupol’s rubble, but that’s what the man writes.