The air portion of Russia’s Victory Day parade was cancelled due to weather conditions, as per Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who spoke to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. 

However, Max Seddon, the Moscow bureau chief of Financial Times, however, pointed out that weather conditions seemed favourable for an aerial display. 

The ceremony was supposed to include 77 fighter planes flying over the Red Square to mark 77 years of the Red Army’s victory over Nazis in World War II. 

Among the 77 planes, there were supposed to be eight MiG-29s, flying in a “Z” formation in a show of support for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a report on TASS, the Russian state-run news agency. 

This “Z” formation has become a symbol of the war in Ukraine, which Russia has labelled a “special military operation“. Emblazoned on numerous military vehicles, the symbol could mean “Za pobedy” (for victory), as per Galina Starovoitova Fellow Kamil Galeev. 

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The aerial display was also supposed to include an Il-80 airborne strategic command and control aircraft, which is known as the “doomsday plane” for its ability to be used as an airborne command centre if there is a nuclear war. Russia’s nuclear flex comes amid a shift in the nature of aid from Western nations to Ukraine. 

Despite repeated threats about interfering in the matters in Ukraine, Western nations have now shifted aims from merely helping Ukraine defend itself to helping it defeat Russia. Accordingly, more complex weapons are being sent including tanks. 

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Russia has remained firm that it will only resort to a nuclear alternative if the nation’s existence is threatened. Despite the rising aid to Ukraine, Moscow didn’t only cancel the aerial display which included the “doomsday plane”, but there was also no mention of nuclear war in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day speech.