The Russian Defense Ministry has discreetly canceled this year’s Army-2025 military and technical forum, which is the country’s largest annual defense exhibition showcasing its latest weaponry and military advancements, as reported by the pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia on Wednesday, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

The business publication Kommersant later verified this information, referring to multiple contacts within the defense sector.

Originally planned for August 11-14 at the military-themed Patriot Park near Moscow, the event has been removed from the venue’s schedule without any explanation.

An archived version of the Patriot Park website still lists Army-2025 on its calendar.

The official Army-2025 website remains operational, and there has been no formal cancellation announcement made through its Telegram channel or VKontakte profile.

Since its inception in 2015, the Army forum has been a key platform for the Defense Ministry to showcase new technologies from Russia’s defense industry.

While the event has never been canceled before, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, its size has been reduced in recent years. The 2024 edition, for instance, was cut down to three days instead of the usual week-long format.

Organizers had previously indicated that over 800 companies, including several international ones, had secured exhibition space for this year’s forum.

As of now, the Defense Ministry has not confirmed these reports.