Moscow on Monday launched its biggest deluge of drones in months against Ukraine, on the eve of annual Victory Day celebrations in Russia.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Russia had fired 60 Iranian-made kamikaze drones at Ukraine, including 36 upon the capital city. He said all had been shot down, though debris hit apartments and other buildings, killing at least five people in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense posted video on Twitter of what it said were Russian drones being shot down over Kyiv.
Meanwhile, a food warehouse in Odesa, a city on the Black Sea, was hit by a Russian missile and set on fire.
Victory Day on May 9 is one of the biggest yearly celebrations in Russia, marking its defeat of the Nazis in World War II. This year, however, at least 21 Russian cities had canceled military parades for the first time in years, according to state media, with regional officials citing “security concerns” or more vague references to “the current situation.”
Equating Russia’s goals with the Nazis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he had sent a draft bill to Ukraine’s parliament proposing a Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism on May 8, as well as a Day of Europe on May 9, further distancing Kyiv from Moscow.
“Unfortunately, evil has returned,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, adding, “But for those obsessed with the idea of a Soviet Empire—the memory of the Second World War became something else. The vow ‘never again’ is forgotten. It is now replaced with a threat: ‘WE CAN REPEAT.'”
