Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating rival Victory Day ceasefires within hours, raising tensions around Moscow’s Red Square commemorations.
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of breaking rival ceasefires within hours of the latest truce window opening, with both sides reporting hundreds of drone attacks as Moscow prepared for Victory Day commemorations.
The competing claims underscored how little trust remains around the short pauses declared by the two governments. Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced a ceasefire for 8-9 May ahead of Saturday’s celebrations of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, while Kyiv had called for an open-ended ceasefire starting earlier in the week.
Russia’s defence ministry said Friday morning that it had recorded 1,365 violations in the conflict zone since the ceasefire began at midnight local time, including 153 artillery strikes and 887 drone strikes. It said Russian forces had given a “mirror response” to the alleged violations.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said about 20 drones had been shot down near the Russian capital in the first two hours of the truce. Russian reports also cited Ukrainian strikes on industrial sites in the Perm and Yaroslavl regions, sites in the Rostov region and the Chechen capital Grozny. Thirteen airports in southern Russia suspended operations after a drone attack.
Ukraine rejected Russia’s account and said Moscow had continued attacking Ukrainian positions after the truce began. President Volodymyr Zelensky said there had been more than 140 attacks on Ukrainian positions in the first few hours and more than 850 drone strikes.
“All of this clearly indicates that there was not even a simulated attempt from the Russian side to cease fire at the front,” Zelensky said in a Telegram post, adding that Ukraine would “act in kind.”
The ceasefire dispute follows earlier Ukrainian accusations that Russia ignored Kyiv’s unilateral pause by launching drone and missile attacks, including a strike on a kindergarten in the Sumy border region that local authorities said killed two people. No children were present at the time.
Russia has warned Ukraine not to attack the Victory Day parade in Red Square and has threatened a “retaliatory, massive missile strike” on central Kyiv if Moscow is targeted. Russian authorities have also warned foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of 9 May.
The commemorations in Moscow are taking place under tighter security. For the first time in nearly two decades, the parade will not include military hardware, and residents of Moscow and St Petersburg have been told mobile internet access will be limited for security reasons. Only a small number of foreign leaders and dignitaries are expected to attend compared with past years.
The accusations come as international diplomacy remains stalled. European Council President António Costa said there was “potential” for the European Union to negotiate with Russia over ending the war, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready for dialogue but would not initiate contacts. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was still prepared to mediate, but did not want to waste time if no progress was being made.
For now, the immediate question is whether the rival ceasefire claims harden into another round of escalation around the Victory Day events, or whether either side can show a measurable pause in attacks beyond its own battlefield account.
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