Moscow’s four main airports remained closed for hours on Tuesday after Ukraine launched a second consecutive night of drone attacks on the Russian capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Tuesday that Russian air defenses intercepted 19 drones flying toward the city from different directions.
The Russian official said some debris had fallen on access roads to the city, but no casualties had been reported. The attack comes ahead of celebrations planned in Moscow to mark the end of World War II. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the Victory Day event.
«Our position is very clear regarding all those who travel to Russia on May 9: we cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation,» Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. «They are responsible for their safety. We will not give any guarantees, because we do not know what Russia can do on those dates.»
Attacks in Ukraine
The Ukrainian government has not commented on the reported attack, but local officials said Russia carried out overnight drone strikes on civilian targets. According to regional governor Oleh Kiper, at least one person was killed and several infrastructures were damaged after a Russian drone strike in Odessa. Several houses were reportedly damaged in the attack and fires broke out in the aftermath.
The mayor of Kharkiv stated that Russia had attacked the city with drones, injuring at least four people. The attacks reportedly hit commercial premises, a shopping mall and civilian homes. The mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said that 20 attacks had been recorded in four districts of the city, which had caused fires.
Ukraine and Russia are at loggerheads over competing ceasefire proposals, after Zelensky called the proposed 72-hour unilateral ceasefire «theatrical» proposed by Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a ceasefire from May 7 to 10, coinciding with Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations. However, Zelenskyy claimed that the ceasefire proposed by Russia was intended to create the illusion that Putin is emerging from isolation.
Instead, Zelensky again called for a more substantial 30-day pause in hostilities, as the United States had initially proposed. He said the proposed ceasefire could begin at any time as a significant step toward ending Russia’s ongoing war, now in its fourth year.