\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\begin{equation}
a+b
\end{equation}
\addtocounter{equation}{-1}%
\begin{subequations}
\begin{align}
a = 1\tag{xxxx}\\
b = 2\tag{yyyy}\\
d = 3\tag{zzzz}
\end{align}
\end{subequations}
\begin{equation}
a+b
\end{equation}
\end{document}