Ukraine struck a critically important military-industrial complex in Russia on Tuesday, just days before the Kremlin’s Victory Day parade on 9 May.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published a video of launches of domestically-made Flamingo cruise missiles, which he said covered a distance of more than 1,500km to strike a facility in Cheboksary in the Russian Federation's Chuvash Republic.
The facility in question is a Russian state institute that produces components for high-precision weapons used by Moscow to attack Ukraine.
"The struck military production facility manufactured relay protection systems, automation equipment, and low-voltage apparatus," Zelenskyy wrote.
"Russia must end its war and move to real diplomacy. We have made our proposal."
Zelenskyy announced on Monday that Ukraine is declaring a ceasefire beginning at midnight on Wednesday. The proposal came in response to Russia’s unilateral declaration of a ceasefire for its Victory Day parade.
“We believe that human life is far more valuable than any anniversary ‘celebration’,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russia’s upcoming 9 May commemorations.
He warned that the timeframe of the proposed truce at midnight on the night of 5–6 May would be enough to test whether a genuine pause in fighting could be respected.
“We will act reciprocally starting from that moment,” Zelenskyy said.
"It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s defence ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill."
Victory Day blackout
Russia has reportedly started cutting off mobile internet services to many users starting from Tuesday.
Russian banks, including the country’s largest, Sberbank, also cautioned that there could be issues with mobile internet and cash withdrawals.
This year the parade in Moscow will also be significantly scaled back, according to the Kremlin.
It would not feature military vehicles or cadets due to what the Kremlin described as "current operational situation”.
“All measures are being taken to minimise the danger," Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier as he referred to what Moscow called a “terrorist threat” from Ukraine.
The fact that the parade is scaled down is seen as an important indicator of the situation in Russia’s military and of personnel and equipment shortages.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank assessed that in April, Russian forces lost territory they occupied in Ukraine for the first time in over a year and a half.
The ISW said it has evidence that Moscow lost control of 116 square kilometres over the course of last month.
The think tank explained that the Russian rate of advance across the battlefield has been steadily declining since November 2025," as continued Ukrainian ground counterattacks and mid-range strikes, the February block on Russia’s use of Starlink terminals in Ukraine, and the Kremlin’s throttling of Telegram have exacerbated existing problems within the Russian military.
