Russia’s decision last week to cancel the “Military Olympics”, which has been held annually since 2015, may be due to the lack of tanks that were “stolen” during the fighting in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense suggested in its assessment on Friday.

“Last week, Russian media reported that the International Army Games will not take place in 2023,” said the latest assessment of the conflict in Ukraine on Friday.

Dubbed the “military Olympics,” according to the British Secret Service, they “symbolized Russia’s attempt to place the military at the center of mass culture.”

The Ministry of Defense of Russia has been organizing the International Army Games annually since 2015.

Usually several countries participate in a series of competitions.

Russian state news agency TASS reported on April 18, citing unnamed sources, that the games will now be held every two years. Thus, the next event will take place in 2024.

The decision to cancel this year’s army games was made at the beginning of April, reports another TASS source.

How many tanks has Russia lost since the beginning of the war

The Russian authorities have not yet commented on the announcement of the cancellation of this year’s games.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense believes Russia canceled the games “mainly because it is concerned that the event will be seen as wartime frivolity”.

Russian nationalist bloggers, including former intelligence officer Igor Girkin, sharply criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense for hosting the 2022 Military Olympics.

The Ukrainian military claims that since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has lost more than 3,690 tanks and about 7,200 armored personnel carriers at the front.

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