Its flyover was much-hyped, but Vladimir Putin’s “Doomsday Plane”—a specially equipped jet from which the Russian elite can allegedly run a nuclear war—was conspicuous by its absence at Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on Monday. It was reported that the flyover of the plane was canceled because of bad weather, however footage showed Moscow enjoying a pleasant and sunny spring day and weather services suggested there was wind of just 3 mph. The windowless Ilyushin Il-80 plane, also known as “the flying Kremlin,” had been expected to to be escorted by nuclear-capable jets that included the Tu-96 “Bear” and Tu-160 “White Swan.” Max Seddon, the Financial Times’ respected correspondent in Moscow, tweeted that the flyover had been canceled.
The flyover portion of the parade has been cancelled, ostensibly over bad weather. But it looks like an absolutely gorgeous spring day in Moscow 🤔 pic.twitter.com/uOEnSFTNMc
