All four international airports in the Moscow vicinity were temporarily closed on Tuesday as Russian defense forces intercepted an extensive launch of over 100 drones from Ukraine, targeting nearly a dozen regions in Russia. This action was confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow.
Additionally, nine regional airports ceased operations temporarily as drones hit locations both along Ukraine’s border and farther within Russia, according to Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, and the Defense Ministry. The Moscow region experienced a renewed wave of attacks, leading major airports, Vnukovo and Domodedovo, to halt flights again. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that the city’s air defenses managed to intercept three of the drones in this second assault.
The drone offensives posed a threat to a planned 72-hour unilateral ceasefire proposed by President Vladimir Putin, intended to align with the celebrations of Victory Day in World War II, Russia’s most prominent secular holiday. The event marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, and the anniversary festivities are set to include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and other world leaders attending in Moscow this Thursday. They will witness a grand parade showcasing troops, tanks, and missiles.
In light of this, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has advised against the participation of foreign military representatives in the parade, with no official confirmations of such attendance being made for this year. The ministry expressed that involvement by foreign military figures would be seen as an insult to the memory of the millions of Ukrainian soldiers who fought against Nazism, thus playing a central role in liberating Europe along with the nation eight decades ago.
Security preparations for the celebrations are expected to be rigorous, with Russian officials indicating possible internet limitations across Moscow and urging residents not to use fireworks during this period.
Last week, Putin declared a brief unilateral truce on “humanitarian grounds” commencing May 8, while Ukraine has voiced a preference for a more extended ceasefire. Russia turned down a U.S. proposal for a comprehensive 30-day pause in hostilities, aligning it with specific broad conditions. Nonetheless, Ukraine agreed to the proposal, as stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Commenting on the brief truce, former U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned it as significant, given past starting points of the conflict.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov affirmed that ceasefire instructions were issued to Russian forces, although they retained the prerogative to retaliate if under attack. The hostilities continued, highlighted by a large-scale exchange of captured soldiers between Ukraine and Russia – one of the most substantial since the expansive Russian invasion began in February 2022. The preceding exchange was noted on April 19, with each side recuperating 205 soldiers, facilitated through mediation by the United Arab Emirates as in previous exchanges.
Despite these developments, long-range attacks persist on both ends. To make up for its smaller army against a 1,000-kilometer front line, Ukraine has deployed increasingly sophisticated, homegrown drones, taking the conflict into Russian territory with long-distance strikes. Conversely, Russia conducted attacks using Shahed drones, 3,000-pound glide bombs, artillery, and both cruise and ballistic missiles against Ukraine.
Reports from Russia’s Kursk region included injuries to two individuals and some property damage within the Voronezh region, according to local Governor Alexander Khinshtein. These claims, however, remain uncorroborated independently.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 136 strike and decoy drones overnight. Russian forces targeted Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, with at least 20 Shahed drones, injuring four people and causing a fire at Kharkiv’s largest market, Barabashovo, which destroyed or damaged around 100 stalls, per regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
Other casualties were reported across the area, with Russian glide bomb and drone attacks injuring seven more individuals, according to Syniehubov. Additionally, three lives were claimed by a Russian ballistic missile in the Ukrainian city of Sumy; acting Mayor Artem Kobzar detailed that one woman died immediately, with two others succumbing to their injuries while hospitalized.
In Kramatorsk, found in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russian Shahed drones were responsible for one death and two injuries, as noted by Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko. The drones targeted both residential and industrial zones in the city.
Furthermore, the Odesa region witnessed strikes from Russian drones on inhabited areas and civilian infrastructure, leading to one fatality, regional head Oleh Kiper stated.