Terrified Putin cancels huge public event as he fears brutal 'assassination'

The event is usually a highlight of the year for the Russian leader (Image: Getty)

A frightened Vladimir Putin has been forced to cancel his major annual naval parade over fears of an attack by Ukrainian drones. It was confirmed on Monday (June 15) that the Naval Day parade in his hometown, St Petersburg, will not go ahead next month.

It is usually a highlight of the year for Putin — but he evidently believes the assassination risk is too high. “As of 15 June, no presidential decree on holding the main naval parade has been published,” a source told news outlet Fontanka. “Naval deployments to St Petersburg have not been planned.” The move follows Ukrainian strikes twice this month on Kronstadt, a naval base that acts as headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet, and plays a key role in the parade.

The 2025 Naval Parade was cancelled for 'security reasons' after it was scaled back the previous year (Image: Getty)

The parade was scaled back in 2024, yet still involved 200 ships and other vessels and 15,000 military personnel. Last year, it was also cancelled due to “security reasons.”

Putin based the modern Naval Day parade on tsarist traditions from Imperial Russia (Image: Getty)

Last month, Putin went ahead with his other major annual Victory Day military parade on Red Square in Moscow when Ukraine agreed not to attack it. But no such promise was likely to be made at the naval parade after the dictator bluntly refused to engage in a full ceasefire and peace talks.

A naval source said: “As you can imagine, it’s not the right time.”