Putin Forced To Cancel Annual Military Games Due To Tank Shortages Across Russia

Vladimir Putin was forced to cancel this year’s Tank Biathlon due to a shortage of tanks amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, RadarOnline.com has learned.

The Kremlin announced the sudden cancelation of Russia’s annual military games on Wednesday, marking the first time since the event’s 2013 inception that it will not happen.

"It was decided to hold the Army International Games every two years,” the Kremlin said in a statement this week. "Accordingly, this year the competitions were canceled.”

"The next games will be held in 2024,” the Kremlin added.

Russia’s annual Tank Biathlon is usually used as an opportunity for Moscow to show off its militaristic capabilities — and last year, it was reportedly held alongside Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Iran, China, and Uzbekistan.

The event’s sudden cancelation this year comes amid reports Putin is preparing a massive offensive against Ukraine in the coming weeks in a last-ditch effort to take control of the war-torn neighboring nation his forces first invaded nearly 14 months ago.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the sudden cancelation of the Tank Biathlon also comes just days after the Kremlin announced this year’s Victory Day parade – held every year on May 9 – would not be taking place.

While the Kremlin announced the Victory Day parade was canceled for security reasons, as well as harsh weather forecasts, Russian sources revealed Putin pulled the plug "because [Russia] simply [has] not enough functioning tanks to run up and down” Moscow.

“The Russian May 9 parades have been canceled,” one Russian insider wrote on social media shortly after the parade was canceled. “The Russian authorities claim it is due to 'security concerns,’ but I believe it is because they simply have not enough functioning tanks to run up and down the road.”

“Every Russian tank is needed at the front and all remaining parade vehicles are needed for the larger cities,” the Russian account continued. “Last year the flight show at the May 9 parade in Moscow was canceled, too.”

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“They claimed it is due to 'bad weather.’”

Putin is estimated to have lost nearly 2,000 tanks since invading Ukraine in February 2022, with more than 500 of those tanks reportedly being captured by the rival forces.