Airborne portion of Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade canceled

The military flyover planned for Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade has been canceled due to weather concerns, Interfax reported.

A journalist standing on the Moscow Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower announced the cancellation on the air for the state-owned Channel One. Fifty-six airplanes and 18 helicopters were meant to fly in the parade.

410 million rubles ($6.27 million) were set aside this year for cloud seeding in Moscow ahead of three federal holidays to prevent precipitation. The airborne portion of the May 9 parade was last canceled despite cloud seeding plans in 2017, though Russia’s Defense Ministry still published photographs of a military flyover during the parade.