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Putin’s spokesman said the Victory Day air show was canceled due to bad weather.
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However, the weather forecast over Moscow during the parade predicts sunny skies and winds of 5 mph.
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The “Z” formation was featured in television reports showing preparations for the May 9 parade.
Russia was expected to use its Victory Day celebrations to increase its air force, but a planned aerial demonstration over Moscow was suddenly canceled on Monday due to bad weather, authorities said.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, told local media Kommersant that the aerial portion of the ceremony was canceled due to “bad weather.”
However, during Putin’s speech at just after 10 a.m. local time, an AccuWeather reading of the local weather in Russia showed “mostly sunny” weather in Moscow, with “excellent” air quality. Accuweather’s forecast for the rest of the day indicated it would be “mostly sunny” with some clouds, and winds were around 5 mph.
The May 9 Victory Parade, which marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, was reduced by about a third this year, but it was still expected to see an air show of planes flying in a “Z” – draw formation.
Tass, a Russian state news agency, reported on May 4 that the aerial photo would show 77 aircraft to represent the number of years since Moscow’s victory over Germany. According to Tass, the display included the Il-80, the “doomsday” aircraft that the Russians claim is nuclear-weapon-free, and other bombers.
Tass also made detailed plans for eight MiG fighter jets to fly over Red Square.
The white Z started out as a mysterious Russian military symbol and has now been co-opted by the Russian military and nationalist groups in the country as a rally symbol for victory.
The same view was also seen in television reports.
During his Victory Day speech, Putin said the day was intended to mark the “triumph of our united Soviet Union.”
“You are fighting for your motherland, for its future, so no one will forget the lessons of World War II,” Putin told Russian soldiers gathered in Red Square.
While Putin invoked anti-Nazi rhetoric on Victory Day, Ukraine’s Culture and Information Minister said Oleksandr Tkachenko said: that Russia had bombed a Jewish cemetery in Hlukhiv, Sumy Oblast. Ukraine also said Russia bombed the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site earlier this year.
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