Moscow (Reuters) – Ukraine attacked Moscow with drones for a third day on Wednesday, forcing most airports in the Russian capital to close as well as Chinese president Xi Jinping was to arrive to mark the victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, said that the Russian air defense units had destroyed at least 14 Ukrainian drones from 10 p.m. Tuesday (1900 GMT) until Wednesday morning.
Moscow key airports remained outside the most of the night, and the national Russian carrier Aeroflot said that he reorganized schedules to deal with the disruption.
According to the Kremlin, twenty-nine world leaders, including XI, should attend commemorations of the Second World War Victory Day in Moscow in the coming days, according to the Kremlin. The military units of 13 countries, including China, will participate in the parade.
On Wednesday, XI should start a four -day visit to Russia, giving President Vladimir Putin an important diplomatic boost at a time when the Russian chief is eager to show that his country is not isolated on the world stage.
XI, whose country is locked in a tariff war with the United States, should sign many agreements to deepen the already tight strategic partnership “limitless” with Moscow, which has always seen China Crown the largest trading partner in Russia.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people during the Second World War, including several million in Ukraine, but finally pushed the Nazi forces in Berlin, where Adolf Hitler committed suicide and the banner of red Soviet victory was raised above the Reichstag in 1945.
For the Russians – and for many peoples of the former Soviet Union – May 9 is the most sacred date on the calendar, and Putin, angry with what he says, West attempts to minimize Soviet victory, sought to use memories of the Second World War to unite Russian society.
(Report by Reuters in Moscow and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; edition by Guy Faulconbridge)
