Russia says Ukraine launched major drone attack after Moscow shunned ceasefire offer

Russian air defences shot down 347 Ukrainian drones overnight Russias Defence Ministry said Thursday in what appeared to be a major attack after Moscow spurned Kyivs ceasefire earlier in the week and tension mounted over safety at Russias upcoming Victory Day celebrationsIncoming drones were destroyed in over 20 Russian regions including Moscow according to the Defence Ministry in Ukraines secondbiggest aerial attack since Russias allout invasion more than four years ago The largest was in March when it launched 389 dronesDozens more Ukrainian drones were launched during daylight hours Thursday the ministry said including some heading again toward Moscow Nearly 100 flights in and out of the Russian capitals three main airports Sheremetyevo Domodedovo and Vnukovo were delayed or cancelled by midday the Moskva news agency reportedThe attacks came ahead of Russias most important secular holiday on May 9 Victory Day which marks the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II Russian authorities have declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and SaturdayUkraine had responded with its own suspension of hostilities from midnight Tuesday But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said while Ukraine had been ready to ensure complete silence Moscow disregarded the goodwill gesture and launched fresh attacksThey want Ukraines permission to hold their parade so they can safely take to the square for an hour once a year and then go back to killing our people and waging war rfsaid in his regular evening video address ThursdayThe Ukrainian leader said Thursday on X that Russias attacks have been ceaseless with drones missiles artillery shelling and glide bombs hitting civilian areas of Ukraine including the power grid and rail networkIn the northeastern city of Kharkiv Ukraines secondlargest a drone strike wounded nine people including three children local officials saidTension has grown as Russias Victory Day celebrations approach and USled peace efforts gain no traction Rustem Umerov the head of Ukraines National Security and Defence Council was in the United States on Thursday and preparing to meet with Trump administration representatives according to ZelenskyyAll mobile internet access and text messaging services will be shut down in the Russian capital on May 9 state media reported Thursday citing the countrys Ministry of Digital Development Communications and Mass MediaA traditional parade in Moscow wont feature the usual tanks missiles and other military equipment for the first time in nearly two decadesThe Russian Defence Ministry cited the current operational situation as a reason for excluding military equipmentRussian authorities say they are concerned about possible Ukrainian attacks as Kyiv has expanded its longrange drone and missile capabilitiesKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that additional security measures were being taken due to the rather complex operational situationThe measures being taken are necessary to ensure the safety of citizens which is an absolute priority Peskov told reportersAmong the foreign dignitaries expected to attend the Victory Day ceremonies on Saturday are Malaysias King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith and Belarus authoritarian leader Alexander LukashenkoSlovakias Prime Minister Robert Fico was to meet with Putin and lay flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier but stay away from the paradeZelenskyy said some countries who planned to send representatives to Moscow for May 9 had contacted Ukraine about their plans to visitAn odd desire at a time like this We do not recommend it Zelenskyy said late ThursdayRussia repeated its recent warnings to Ukraine that it would take decisive action including a potential mass strike on Kyiv if Ukrainian attacks disrupt the occasionWe have strengthened our focus on the possibility of retaliatory measures presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists ThursdayRussias Foreign Ministry advised foreign embassies and international organizations located in Kyiv to evacuate their offices in case such a strike did take placeUkraines air defence shot down 92 of the 102 drones Russia launched overnight the military saidRussia maintains a significant advantage in drone numbers regularly deploying hundreds in a single attackThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever