Ukraine cannot guarantee the security of foreign officials who plan to attend the Russian victory day parade in Moscow on Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
“Our position is very simple for all countries going to Russia on May 9: we cannot be held responsible for what is happening in the territory of the Russian Federation,” the Ukrainian president said on Saturday.
“They are responsible for your safety. We will not provide any guarantee, because we do not know what Russia could do on these dates. ”
This declaration sparked new diplomatic tensions with Slovakia. Including the friendly Prime Minister in Moscow, Robert Fico, criticized Zelenskyy's warning.
“I reject such threats for security reasons,” said Fico on Monday. “I fully respect that participants' security is an internal question of the Russian Federation. But if Mr. Zelenskyy thinks that his statements will force foreign delegations not to come, then he is deeply wrong.”
It is not clear if Fico will attend the parade. After the Slovak Prime Minister canceled some public appearances, including official Labor Day events, there have been speculation that he may also not appear in Moscow.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who also planned to visit Moscow alongside Fico, fell ill during a visit to the United States last week, cutting his short trip and returning to Belgrade, where he was briefly hospitalized.
Fico and Vučić were the only European leaders to announce their participation in the day of the Russian victory day, a decision which aroused strong criticism from the European Union. In the case of Vučić, Brussels issued a striking warning, indicating that the visit would violate the membership criteria of the EU and potentially harmed the A membership process of Serbia in the 27 -members.
European politicians could be absent, but the most precious ally in Moscow and undoubtedly the most important guest will participate.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia from May 7 to 10 to participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
How sure the parade will be?
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine between May 7 and 9 in the celebration of the Victory Day. The idea was categorically rejected by kyiv, with Zelenskyy calling it a “theatrical performance” designed to alleviate Russia’s international isolation and create a favorable atmosphere for victory day celebrations in Moscow.
Zelenskyy would have said that the proposal was not a serious attempt to end the war and reiterated Ukraine's support for a United States initiative calling for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
The president of Ukraine warned that Moscow's story to rape the short -term trues is undergoing any confidence in his latest offer.
“They kill until (May) on the 7th, stop for a few comfortable days, then start attacking on the 11th,” he said.
On Monday, a few days before the parade, when rehearsals took place in the Russian capital, the authorities said that four drones had been intercepted overnight as the city approaches.
ADVERTISEMENTAccording to preliminary reports, there was no injury or damage to the falling debris, said Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on the telegram messaging application.
It was not the first time that Ukrainian drones have reached Moscow. In mid-March, city authorities reported the largest drone attack with more than 70 drones slaughtered according to Russian Air Defense and Moscow authorities.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukrainian drones can now fly far beyond and reach a range of 3,000 km.
Kyiv used long -range drones to deeply hit Russian territory, targeting military infrastructure such as aerodromes, oil refineries, deposits and logistics hubs.
ADVERTISEMENTRussia has already canceled the victory parade in the port city of Sébastopol de Crimea occupied. The Governor of the Occupation in Moscow said that the parade did not take place due to security risks.
The announcement comes as a result of a Ukrainian maritime drone strike which destroyed a Russian su-30 fighter plane near the port of Novorossiysk last Friday.
Ukraine's military information described it as “an unprecedented operation”, marking the first time that a sea drone has shot a jet plane.
It is the third consecutive time that the parade has been canceled in Sevastopol. The occupied port city held it for the last time in 2022, shortly after the start of the large -scale invasion of Ukraine Russia.
ADVERTISEMENTWhy is the day of victory so important for Putin?
For Moscow, May 9 is more than a victory party. Under Putin, it has become one of the most important public holidays and a great demonstration of the military power of Russia.
It has become even more symbolic since the beginning of the large -scale invasion of Ukraine Russia in early 2022, because the Kremlin uses imagery and accounts of the Second World War to describe and support its total invasion.
In its war against Ukraine, Russia has restored a crowd of slogans and symbols identical to those that the Soviet Union used during the Second World War, as “we can do it again” or “we can repeat it”, as we see widely used by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Similarly, the St George ribbon, black orange, which symbolizes the victory of the Second World War, has now become one of the most recognizable emblems of the large -scale invasion of Ukraine in Ukraine and is carried by the supporters of the Moscow attack on the neighboring country.
ADVERTISEMENTMoscow has deliberately linked the two stories through the language, using an elaborate language to create a term of substitute involving grandeur: for example, calling its large -scale invasion of Ukraine “a special military operation” in the same way as the Second World War is called “the Great Patriotic War” in Russia.
Putin himself said on several occasions that “the Soviet people were fighting alone” during the Second World War, without taking into account the contribution of the allies.
During the launch of the large -scale invasion of Ukraine, he said that his main objectives were the country's “denazification” and “fight against fascism” – says Putin has never fallen with evidence to date.
The popularization of this rhetoric and the glorification of Putin of the day of victory have their own term in Russian: “pobedobesie”, a derogatory word meaning grotesque hyperbolic celebrations, or victory.
ADVERTISEMENTUkraine has moved away from the commemorations and dates of the Soviet era. Zelenskyy signed a law in 2023 by moving the Ukrainian memory of the Second World War until May 8, which is in accordance with most of Europe.
