Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow on Tuesday as the first foreign leaders landed in the capital ahead of a major military parade marking the end of the second world war.
Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said Russian air defences shot down two drones en route to the capital on Tuesday evening.
It was the second consecutive day of Ukrainian drone attacks, following two waves that temporarily shut several Moscow airports.
Ukraine’s drone campaign in Moscow appeared aimed at unnerving the Kremlin before the 9 May parade, which about three dozen foreign leaders – including China’s Xi Jinping – are expected to attend.
Vladimir Putin has proposed a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the 8-10 May second world war commemorations, which this year mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union and the allied forces.
But the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, described the offer as self-serving and meaningless unless extended to 30 days, in line with a US-backed proposal that Putin has so far dismissed.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv about the latest drone attack.
Zelenskyy earlier warned that Ukraine “cannot bear responsibility for what happens” to foreign leaders attending the commemoration parade in Moscow.
Security has been tightened in Moscow before the Victory Day celebrations, with residents experiencing major internet disruptions.
Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported that critical facilities in the capital had been placed under reinforced protection, while some Telegram social media channels reported that air defence systems had been transferred to protect Moscow.
The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, previously accused Zelenskyy of directly threatening the 9 May events, while the former president Dmitry Medvedev said “10 May may not come for Kyiv” if there were any “Victory Day provocations”.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, said on Tuesday that 29 world leaders were expected to attend second world war Victory Day commemorations in Moscow in the coming days.
Ushakov added that military units from 13 countries, including China, would take part in the parade along with Russian troops and military vehicles.
However, Ushakov denied earlier media reports claiming that North Korean troops – whom Pyongyang acknowledged for the first time in April had fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine – would join the parade.
It will be the largest delegation of foreign leaders at the Red Square parade since Putin launched his full-scale invasion over three years ago – a show of support that Moscow will present as evidence it is not isolated.
So far, there is no indication that Ukraine will accept Moscow’s proposed three-day ceasefire, which Zelenskyy has dismissed as an “unserious” stunt aimed at ensuring smooth 9 May celebrations.
The US has been pressing Moscow to agree to a longer, one-month ceasefire though, on Monday, Trump appeared to tacitly support the Kremlin’s proposal.
“As you know, President Putin just announced a three-day ceasefire, which doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a lot if you knew where we started from,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said its forces had been engaged in combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region over the previous 24 hours, despite Moscow saying it had defeated a Ukrainian incursion into the area.
In a daily update posted on Telegram, the military said its forces in the Kursk sector had fought off Russian attacks and come under fire from Russian artillery and air-dropped bombs.
Local Russian authorities appeared to confirm on Monday evening that Ukraine’s military had made gains along the border.
Vasily Khudyakov, the head of Glushkovo – a small settlement in the Kursk region – said Russian troops had begun evacuating all residents from the area.
“Due to the worsening situation in the village, residents currently there must temporarily evacuate,” Khudyakov wrote on social media.
