Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was targeted by another Russian missile strike on Monday. The head of the city’s military administration noted that it’s the fifth time the capital has been attacked since the start of May.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv City Military Administration, said on Telegram that it was no accident that the latest attack came on the eve of Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade, saying Russia was using its “sacred date” to then “try to kill as many civilians as possible on this day.”

Monday night’s attack was carried out by four Tu-95MS strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea region, Popko said, but he noted that the cruise missiles launched by the fighter jets had not reached their targets.

“The anti-aircraft defense of the capital worked perfectly again! According to preliminary information, about one and a half dozen enemy air targets were detected and destroyed in the airspace around Kyiv,” Popko said. No one was injured in the attack, preliminary information suggested, he said.

“Kyiv stood up again and will stand up in the future,” Popko said.

Kyiv’s Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said that during the attack on Kyiv, “a fragment of a downed rocket fell on a private yard in Holosiivskyi district of the capital. The burning wreckage was extinguished. There were no casualties or damage.” Explosives experts, rescuers and police are still working on the scene, he said Tuesday morning.

CNBC was unable to immediately verify the information in the posts but, in recent days, Kyiv has been targeted in several attacks after a relative lull in several months. Early Monday morning, Kyiv was struck by Iranian-made “Shahed” drones.

Ukrainian Air Defense forces destroyed 35 “Shahed” drones used in strikes on the capital, the forces’ General Staff said, but debris from the interceptions damaged buildings and cars and injured at least five people, according to local authorities.

— Holly Ellyatt, Natasha Turak

Despite being one of the most important dates in Russia’s calendar, Victory Day in Russia has not been what it was for a number of years now.

The Covid-19 pandemic and now the ongoing war with Ukraine have sorely affected annual commemorations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

This year, Russia’s growing domestic insecurities as a result of the war — and an uptick on attacks on its own soil — is also marring the commemorative event, with at least six regions (including Crimea) and 21 cities canceling their Victory Day parades, Britain’s Ministry of Defense noted last Friday.

Moscow’s Victory Day celebration is likely to be held on a much smaller scale this year and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reception following the parade will not go ahead. The reception was last held in 2019, the U.K. noted.

The traditional “March of the Immortal Regiment,” in which family members display photographs of dead veterans of World War II, has also been canceled. That follows the recent cancellation of the Russian-hosted International Army Games, the U.K. noted.

The timing of a recent alleged drone strike on the Kremlin a few days before Victory Day showed, the ministry said, “Russia’s increasing vulnerability to such attacks and has almost certainly raised the threat perception of the Russian leadership over the Victory Day events.”

“The potential for protests and discontent over the Ukraine war are also likely to have influenced the calculus of the Russian leadership.”

The Kremlin said all possible security measures were in place ahead of this year’s Victory Day and that Putin will watch the parade on Red Square along with the leaders of other former Soviet republics that now form part of a bloc known as the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The heads of state will then lay flowers and have an informal breakfast together, Peskov said. The parade is due to start at 10a.m. Moscow time. Putin is due to give a speech at the event and is also expected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia could intensify its military aggression against Ukraine today, given the backdrop of Victory Day and an uptick in attacks on the country in recent weeks ahead of Kyiv’s expected counteroffensive.

The Kremlin has already been using security concerns as a justification for its “special military operation” in Ukraine, with Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claiming that “the nature of the Kyiv regime requires that Moscow be vigilant and reaffirms that President Putin made the right decision to start the special military operation,” Tass reported.

Peskov repeated baseless claims that Russia was still dealing the “manifestations of Nazism in one way or another.”

As it looked to bolster public support for its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly stated that the government in Ukraine is a Nazi regime, despite the fact that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish.

Ukraine and its Western allies have repeatedly rejected Russia’s claims as nonsensical and part of a wider, deeper campaign to spread misinformation about the invasion and its motives for launching it.

— Holly Ellyatt

All eyes are on Russia’s Victory Day parade today that marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

Moscow usually uses the large-scale parade in Moscow to show off its military hardware as Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military generals, as well as other guest heads of state, look on.

This year will be different, however, with the ongoing war in Ukraine involving much of Russia’s military personnel and hardware. Security concerns are high on the Kremlin’s watchlist this year, particularly following a recent alleged drone attack on the Kremlin.

Six regions, including Crimea, and 21 cities across Russia have canceled their May 9 parades in light of security concerns, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Monday.

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said stringent security measures were in place ahead of Victory Day.

“All the necessary measures are being taken to ensure security, especially when foreign guests, our head of state will be in attendance. Everything that is required by law is being done to that end,” he told Russia’s Channel One television network on Monday, according to state news agency Tass.

— Holly Ellyatt

Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin ditched his threat from last week to leave the war-ravaged city of Bakhmut in light of insufficient ammunition supplies.

The private military firm’s boss wrote on Telegram Sunday,: “Overnight we received a combat order, for the first time in all this time. We have been promised as much ammunition and weapons as we need to continue further operations. We have been promised that everything needed to prevent the enemy from cutting us off will be deployed on the flank.”

Prigozhin on Friday released a video in which he, surrounded by dead bodies of Wagner fighters, blasted Russian Defense Ministry chiefs for failing to supply his combatants with the ammunition they needed to fight in Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian city that’s been the site of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle so far.

— Natasha Turak

Civilians and city officials took stock of damage from the wreckage of Russian drones shot down over Kyiv early Monday morning.

Ukrainian Air Defense forces destroyed all 35 Iranian “Shahed” drones used in Russia’s strikes on the capital, the forces’ General Staff said, but debris from the interceptions damaged buildings and cars and injured at least five people, according to local authorities.

Moscow is going ahead with Victory Day celebrations on Tuesday, which include a major military parade, to celebrate the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

This year’s commemoration follows a turbulent week that saw an alleged attempted drone attack on the Kremlin, which Moscow blames on Ukraine and Washington, but that Kyiv argues was staged by Russia to escalate the war.

A Moscow city official was quoted by the Guardian as describing “a nervousness that I have never seen before” in the wake of the drone attack, but then adding that the Victory Day parade must still take place.

At least six regions in Russia have canceled their Victory Day celebrations.

The Guardian writes, “Tellingly, on Friday, Putin took the unusual step to discuss the preparations for the 9 May Victory Day parade in a meeting with his security council, composed of Russia’s top state officials and heads of defence and security agencies … Even before the drone attack on the Kremlin, there were signs of unease among the Russian leadership over the celebrations amid fears of Ukrainian strikes.”

— Natasha Turak