Russia has canceled a major military music festival in Moscow just four days before it was scheduled to begin, as Ukrainian drone attacks on the capital and surrounding areas intensify.
Organizers of the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival announced that the event, scheduled to take place on Red Square near the Kremlin, had been postponed until 2027 due to “circumstances beyond the organizers’ control.”
The festival, which has been held since 2007 on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, attracts thousands of visitors and brings together military bands from Russia and other countries. It is considered one of the country’s most prominent military-themed public events, alongside the Victory Day parade in Moscow and the Navy Day celebrations in St. Petersburg.
Spasskaya Tower was previously canceled only once, in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cancellation comes amid a sharp increase in Ukrainian drone attacks targeting Moscow and the surrounding Moscow region.
Russian authorities and media reported that hundreds of drones were launched toward the capital and surrounding areas in one of the largest recent attacks. The strikes reportedly targeted logistics facilities and warehouses, triggering fires and causing at least one death.
The decision also follows the cancellation of another major event on Moscow’s Red Square in June, when a gala concert marking Russia Day was called off.
Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9 also took place on a reduced scale, with the traditional military parade held without heavy military equipment for the first time in nearly two decades.
The cancellation of the Spasskaya Tower festival underscores the growing impact of the war on major public events in Moscow, as Russian authorities face increasing security challenges from long-range Ukrainian drone attacks.
