Flights were halted at four major airports in Moscow after a swarm of drones triggered air defences overnight, shaking confidence in Russian security just days before the country’s controversial Victory Day celebrations. Russian officials reported that at least 19 drones were intercepted near the capital, with debris damaging a shop on the Kashira Highway, only 10 kilometres from the Kremlin. No casualties were confirmed.
Venukovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, and Zhukovsky airports all suspended flights temporarily as panic spread. The incident followed a similar disruption at Domodedovo Airport on 5 May due to fears of a drone attack.
The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s regime appears increasingly desperate to ensure the May 9 parade proceeds, declaring a so-called ceasefire from midnight on 8 May until midnight on 11 May. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that this initiative was still in place, but warned of “appropriate” retaliation if Ukraine did not reciprocate. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called it the beginning of direct peace talks, but Ukraine has rejected the offer, calling it a manipulative tactic.
Ukrainian officials, including presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, accused Russia of planning provocations to create justification for further war. Podolyak warned that the Kremlin may stage false flag attacks on its own population to paint Ukraine and internal resistance movements as aggressors.
The Ukrainian partisan group Atesh reported through Telegram that Russia’s FSB security agency is planning fake terrorist acts inside both Russian and occupied Ukrainian territories on 9 May, aiming to shift blame to anti-regime forces. Atesh reiterated that it targets only military infrastructure and invading forces, not civilians.
In another worrying sign of rising paranoia, Moscow officials have disrupted mobile internet access ahead of the military parade. Meanwhile, Russian-occupied Sevastopol has cancelled its Victory Day parade due to fears over air security.
In the diplomatic arena, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call urging Russia to commit to a real thirty-day ceasefire to enable meaningful negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that any truce shorter than that is a Kremlin stunt.
Meanwhile, Germany has elected a new Chancellor. Friedrich Merz of the CDU-CSU coalition secured 325 votes in a second round of voting in the Bundestag. Merz had previously pledged to provide Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles if elected. Zelensky congratulated him and expressed hope for a stronger German role in supporting Ukraine.
Putin’s past so-called ceasefires, including one during Easter, failed to stop attacks along the front. Ukraine proposed extending calm for thirty days, including a halt to missile strikes, but the Kremlin never responded. Observers see the current offer as another propaganda ploy rather than a genuine effort for peace.
