MOSCOW: The Kremlin was forced Wednesday to say it was taking “all necessary measures” to ensure the safety of foreign leaders set to attend its flagship May 9 parade after a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks closed airports across the country, disrupting hundreds of flights.Moscow and Kyiv traded a barrage of drone attacks ahead of the parade — which has become a key event during Vladimir Putin’s 25 years in power — as US talks pushing for an end to the conflict appeared to have stalled.Moscow will hold the Victory Day event on Red Square to mark 80 years of the defeat of Nazi Germany, an anniversary that comes more than three years into its Ukraine offensive.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian attack killed a mother and her son in Kyiv on Wednesday.Russia fired 142 drones and four ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight, he said.Russia said Ukraine had launched a barrage of drones at Moscow and other cities in western Russia, forcing airports to halt traffic with 60,000 people seeing their flights disrupted. The attacks come as some foreign leaders — including China’s Xi Jinping — are due to arrive in the Russian capital for the WWII celebrations.“Our military and special services are taking all necessary measures to ensure that the celebration of the great victory takes place in a calm, stable and peaceful atmosphere,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He said authorities were jamming the internet because of a threat from Kyiv, which has hit Russian cities with drones throughout Moscow’s offensive. The Kremlin’s forces occupy a fifth of Ukraine and this spring hit the country with a string of deadly attacks on civilian areas. “We need to take into account that dangerous neighbourhood that we have,” Peskov said, referring to Ukraine.“As long as guests are here, until May 10, we need to be ready for restrictions,” he added, calling on Muscovites to be understanding. ‘Nothing scares us’Many Russians from outside Moscow were visiting the heavily policed capital for the parade and appeared unfazed.“We are from Rostov-on-Don. Nothing scares us,” said 22-year-old student Valeria Pavlova from the southern city, which serves as a command and logistics hub for the Ukraine offensive and has regularly been targeted.“It’s much calmer here,” she added.But scenes at airports in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other cities were more chaotic. Kyiv’s drone attacks disrupted some 350 flights Tuesday and Wednesday, Russia’s Association of Tour Operators said. Social media videos showed people sleeping on the floor and airports with rows of over a dozen planes queueing on the tarmac.Ukraine’s airspace has been forced to close since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022, with Ukrainians forced to make long train journeys to neighbouring Poland to catch a flight.Putin has ordered a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine starting at midnight Wednesday, which Ukraine has dismissed as a “game” designed to protect his parade rather than a genuine peace measure.Kyiv has instead called for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, something Putin previously rejected.Hours before Putin’s order was set to come into effect, Moscow unleashed a barrage of drone attacks across Ukraine and Zelensky called for more pressure on Russia to end its offensive.The Kremlin said Putin’s order remains in force. Russia has said it will retaliate to any attacks.‘Stay alive’Putin, who has been isolated by the West since launching his offensive, is due to meet the clutch of visiting leaders. He will hold talks with Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro — Russia’s longtime partner — as well as the leaders of Cuba, Mongolia and the Republic of the Congo on Wednesday.Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico — the only EU leader visiting — will attend the event, with Fico defying Brussels by travelling to Moscow.Chinese troops are among some of the foreign soldiers set to march during the May 9 parade. Kyiv on Tuesday warned them not to do so.“The Russian army has committed and continues to commit atrocities in Ukraine on a scale that Europe has not seen since World War II,” Kyiv’s foreign ministry said.“It is this army that will march on Red Square in Moscow on May 9.”The Moscow parade has changed since the 2022 offensive, with Russia lauding veterans of its Ukraine offensive and observers saying less tanks took part in the event.“The guys are going past (on military vehicles), and I just think: ‘Boys, just stay alive, please!” said Marina, who is from the far-eastern city of Blagoveshchensk and was in Moscow for the parade for the first time.
