Add The New York Post on Google Strongman Vladimir Putin was forced to halt his annual Russia Day showcase in Moscow’s Red Square for the first time in 23 years Friday, after a Ukrainian attack battered key energy targets and sparked massive fires on Russian soil.
Kyiv launched drone strikes overnight into Friday on critical Russian energy and transportation points, including blasting slamming the Armiansk Bridge, which connects occupied Crimea with the motherland.
The bombing of the bridge “completely paralysed” a key logistical route and destroyed about 50 vehicles carrying fuel and ammunition, according to Ukraine’s 1st Separate Assault Regiment Da Vinci.
Other targets attacked included a petrochemical plant in Samara, an oil refinery in Tatarstan and a surface-to-air missile system in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border.
In addition, Ukrainian drones slammed the Bryansk border region killing two people and wounding 10 others, according to Acting Regional Gov. Yegor Kovalchuk.
Moscow’s centerpiece Russia Day concert was hastily moved to the Mossovet Cultural Centre in the eastern part of the city, following the airstrikes. Historically celebrated in Red Square, it marked the first time the holiday events will take place outside of the square since 2003.
The concert, titled “In the Unity of the Peoples Lies the Strength of Russia,” was scheduled for 9:30 p.m. local time, but most of the entertainment bailed — including prominent Russian singer Shaman — or were nixed from the performance.
Planned festivities in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, Tolyyatti and Samara were also cancelled, while restrictions were imposed on several local airports.
The holiday represents the creation of the modern Russian state, the presidency and the beginning of the collapse of the USSR.
Putin and the Russian Defense Ministry cited the “current operational situation” and a Ukrainian “terrorist threat” in announcing the cancelations.
Nizhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyaev said celebrations were scrapped to “ensure safety.”
The cancellations come weeks after Putin scrapped the traditional display of military hardware during Moscow’s Victory Day parade, which instead resembled a marching band.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted that recent longer-range attacks by Ukraine, which have started to turn the tide in the four-year war, were efficiently disrupting supply chains to nearby regions like Crimea.
“The long-range strike campaign is therefore reducing Russia’s production capacity, while the midrange strike campaign is hurting Russia’s ability to transport the gasoline Russia is still able to produce,” the group said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted that Crimea is facing a massive fuel shortage and that “measures were being taken” to rectify the situation.
