Russia and Ukraine launched fresh drone attacks overnight, casting doubt that Moscow’s unilateral ceasefire proposal around the weekend’s Victory Day commemoration would be implemented.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted 264 Ukrainian drones between midnight and 7 a.m. local time, including some over the capital region. Moscow earlier said that it would halt combat operations and long-range strikes under a self-declared truce for May 8-9, but warned it would respond to Ukrainian attacks.
Russia launched more than 140 strikes on Ukrainian frontline positions overnight and attempted 10 assaults, mostly against positions near Slovyansk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X. Ukraine also said Russia targeted several regions with dozens of drones overnight.
“All of this clearly shows that, on the Russian side, there was not even a token attempt to cease fire,” Zelenskiy said, adding that Ukraine would continue to respond in kind while defending itself.
Ukraine has said Russia didn’t coordinate its ceasefire proposal with Kyiv and had offered its own proposal for a truce starting May 5.
Late on Thursday, Zelenskiy urged foreign leaders planning to visit Moscow in the coming days to reconsider. Planning to attend the May 9 parade on Red Square is “an odd desire at a time like this,” he said, adding, “We do not recommend it.”
Russia has warned Ukraine that any attempt to disrupt its annual Victory Day celebrations in Moscow would trigger a retaliatory missile strike on central Kyiv. The Russian Foreign Ministry said this week it urged accredited embassies to take that threat seriously and evacuate staff and citizens from Ukraine’s capital.
Moscow’s proposal for a Victory Day ceasefire follows heightened drone attacks, including some deep inside Russia. On Friday, Zelenskiy said Ukraine struck Russia’s Yaroslavl refinery, more than 700 kilometers away from the border.
The strikes have sparked security jitters around the annual commemoration of the defeat of Nazi German in WWII. Moscow announced there would be no heavy weaponry at the parade this year for the first time since 2007.
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