LONDON — Ukrainian drones focused Moscow for the second consecutive night time on Monday, because the Russian capital ready for Victory Day celebrations that Chinese language President Xi Jinping and different Kremlin-friendly world leaders are anticipated to attend.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin stated in a press release posted to Telegram on Tuesday that no less than 19 Ukrainian drones have been shot down en path to the capital in a single day. One other 4 drones have been shot down close to Moscow on Sunday night time.
Sobyanin reported no casualties or severe harm, although stated particles from drones fell on a serious freeway. Russian aviation authorities stated flights have been additionally suspended at 4 of the capital’s airports.
The drones shot down close to Moscow have been among the many 105 craft intercepted throughout Russia in a single day, in response to Russia’s Protection Ministry.
Embellished Russian troopers, individuals within the army operation in Ukraine, march towards Purple Sq. to attend a rehearsal for the Victory Day army parade in Moscow, Russia, on Might 3, 2025.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Ukraine has continued its drone barrages into Russia because the nation prepares to mark Victory Day on Might 9 — the annual celebration of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Celebrations might be held throughout Russia, with the primary occasion a army parade by way of Moscow overseen by President Vladimir Putin, high Kremlin officers and visiting world leaders — amongst them Xi, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Ukraine’s continued strikes have already pressured Russian authorities in occupied Crimea to cancel their deliberate Victory Day parade, with Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev saying the occasion wouldn’t go forward as a consequence of safety considerations, in a press release quoted by the state-run Tass information company.
Putin final month introduced a unilateral stop fireplace stretching from Might 8 to 11 to coincide with Victory Day — a proposal shortly rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who’s pushing for a full 30-day ceasefire that he hopes will type a launch pad for a broader deal to finish Russia’s 3-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy this week stated Putin’s supply was a part of a “theatrical efficiency,” suggesting “it’s inconceivable to construct any plan for the subsequent steps to finish the struggle in two or three days.”
Zelenskyy has additionally warned that Kyiv couldn’t assure the safety of anybody touring to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. “We can’t be held answerable for what occurs on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy advised reporters, in response to a report by Ukrainian information company Interfax.
“They give you safety; due to this fact, we cannot provide you with any ensures. As a result of we do not know what Russia will do lately,” Zelenskyy continued, including that Russia may additionally orchestrate provocations reminiscent of “arson, bombings and so forth, solely responsible us.”
Russian long-range strikes into Ukraine, in the meantime, additionally continued in a single day into Tuesday, with 11 individuals injured by a drone strike in Kharkiv, in response to native administration head Oleg Synegubov.
Ukraine’s air power stated in a submit to Telegram that Russia launched 136 drones into the nation in a single day, of which 54 have been shot down and 70 misplaced in flight with out inflicting harm. Impacts have been reported within the Kharkiv, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk areas, it stated.
A person is pictured on the “Barabashovo” market following a drone strike in Kharkiv on Might 6, 2025.
Sergey Bobok/AFP through Getty Photographs
