Moscow: A sweeping wave of Ukrainian drone strikes temporarily disrupted flight operations at four major Moscow airports late Monday, just days before Russia’s Victory Day celebrations. According to Russia’s Defence Ministry, over 100 drones were launched across nearly a dozen regions in one of the largest aerial offensives reported in the ongoing conflict.
In addition to the capital’s airports, nine regional airports also suspended operations temporarily as drones targeted Russian territory along the Ukraine border and deeper into the heartland. The Russian civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, confirmed the closures, which marked the second consecutive night the Moscow region faced aerial threats.
Two civilians were injured in the Kursk region, and property damage was reported in Voronezh, local authorities said. These accounts, however, could not be independently verified.
The timing of the attack adds a symbolic weight to its impact, coming just two days before a 72-hour unilateral ceasefire declared by President Vladimir Putin is set to begin. The ceasefire is intended to coincide with Victory Day on May 9, Russia’s most significant secular holiday commemorating the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany.
Putin’s gesture of a temporary truce comes amid heightened international scrutiny and escalating hostilities, with Ukrainian forces also reporting overnight drone attacks by Russia. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, 20 Shahed drones launched by Russian forces ignited a blaze at the Barabashovo market, damaging or destroying around 100 stalls and injuring four people, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Additional airstrikes in the wider Kharkiv region left seven more civilians injured, the governor stated on Telegram.
Putin described the brief ceasefire as a move made “on humanitarian grounds.” However, Ukraine has called for a longer ceasefire, aligning with a U.S.-backed proposal for a 30-day halt in hostilities. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyiv has accepted the plan, while Russia has effectively rejected it, insisting on broad conditions before agreement.
Commenting on the situation from the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said,
“It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s … a lot if you knew where we started from”.
Despite the growing tensions, Moscow is preparing to host numerous foreign dignitaries for Victory Day, with Chinese President Xi Jinping confirmed as “our main guest,” according to Putin. Other invitees include Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has voiced opposition to the EU’s stance on Ukraine, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, though his attendance is uncertain due to illness.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a key ally, had initially been expected to attend but cancelled his visit amidst rising regional tensions with Pakistan.
As drone warfare continues to intensify on both sides, and with geopolitical stakes rising, the brief ceasefire may offer only a fleeting pause in a war that shows few signs of slowing.
