Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack days before WW2 parade

Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack on Moscow days before WW2 parade

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EPA A previous drone attack on Moscow in March was Ukraine's largest on the city since the war began in 2022

Kathryn Armstrong & Victoria Bourne BBC News

Russia says Ukraine launched a drone attack on Moscow - days before the start of a ceasefire, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with a World War Two parade. Moscow's four major airports shut for a few hours on Tuesday amid the barrage, authorities said. There were no casualties and Ukraine has not commented. Moscow is due to hold a parade on 9 May to mark the victory of the Soviet Union and allies over Nazi Germany. This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 and will see world leaders, including China's Xi Jinping, in Russia for the event. Putin has called for a three-day ceasefire from 8 May - something Ukraine has not committed to. Kyiv wants a longer truce.

"Fire will be halted, but should the Kyiv regime fail to do the same and should it continue trying to strike our positions and facilities, then an appropriate response will be given immediately," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Russia's ceasefire plans as a "theatrical play". Instead, he has been pushing for a ceasefire of at least 30 days where there would be a halt to missile and drone strikes on civilian targets. He has also reportedly said his country cannot guarantee the safety of anyone travelling to Moscow this week. "Our position is very simple for all countries traveling to Russia on May 9: We cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation," Zelensky was quoted as saying over the weekend by Ukrainian news agency Interfax. Ukraine's foreign ministry went a step further, calling on "all foreign states to refrain from the participation of their military personnel in the parade in Moscow". In a statement on Tuesday, it said taking part in the event would be "regarded by Ukraine as an insult to the memory of the victory over Nazism [and] the memory of millions of Ukrainian front-line soldiers who liberated our country and all of Europe from Nazism eight decades ago". The Kremlin had previously announced a 30-hour truce with Ukraine over Easter, where both sides reported a decrease in fighting, but accused each other of hundreds of violations.