Zelensky warns against attending Russia’s parade as Moscow repeats threats

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned countries friendly with Moscow against sending representatives to Russia’s 9 May World War II Victory Day parade, as the Kremlin intensified threats of a strike on Kyiv that same day.

Russia has unilaterally announced a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine from 8 to 10 May, yet the Russian military has simultaneously urged people to leave Kyiv amid the prospect of what it described as a retaliatory attack.

“We have also received messages from some states close to Russia, saying that their representatives plan to be in Moscow,” Mr Zelensky said in his regular video address from central Kyiv.

“A strange desire… in these days. We do not recommend it.”

“They want from Ukraine a permit to hold their parade, so that they can go out onto the square safely for one hour once a year, and then go on killing,” said Mr Zelensky.

Just minutes before Mr Zelensky spoke, Russia’s defence ministry called on residents and diplomats to leave Kyiv, warning of a possible retaliatory strike if Ukraine were to attack during the unilateral truce.

“We remind the civilian population of Kyiv and staff at foreign diplomatic missions once again of the need to leave the city in good time,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

The statement came after a similar warning late yesterday from the foreign ministry, which also urged diplomats to evacuate.

Parade at risk

For the duration of the truce, Russia’s defence ministry said it would “completely” suspend fire along the front line and halt long-range strikes on military infrastructure.

The ministry said Moscow would respond “in kind” if Ukraine refused to do the same.

Russian National Guard officers walk across Red Square decorated for the Victory Day military parade

Every year on 9 May, Russia commemorates Victory Day with a large-scale military parade across Red Square.

Mr Putin has turned the memory of World War II into a defining theme of his 25-year rule and has repeatedly used it to frame and defend the invasion of Ukraine.

In recent weeks, Kyiv has expanded the reach of its drone campaign, stepping up strikes on Moscow and targets deep inside Russia, including sites hundreds of miles from Ukrainian territory.

Those attacks have rattled nerves in Russia ahead of the parade, traditionally a major display of strength featuring tanks and missiles to mark the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany.

Moscow has said military hardware will be absent from the procession for the first time in almost 20 years.

The list of foreign guests has narrowed as well – according to the Kremlin, only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia and Laos will attend, alongside the leaders of two Russia-backed Georgian breakaway republics not recognised by the UN.

Moscow has also begun intermittent internet shutdowns across the city, with disruptions set to continue until Saturday.

Efforts to negotiate an end to what has become Europe’s worst conflict since World War II have made little headway and have been pushed to the margins by the Iran conflict.

Russia is demanding that Ukraine pull out of four regions Moscow claims as its own, conditions Kyiv considers unacceptable.