Russia's Victory Parade: No tanks and missile launchers due to the Ukrainian drone threat
As Russia prepares to stage its annual Victory Day parade in Moscow, the Kremlin has issued a stark warning to foreign embassies in Kyiv: If Ukraine attacks, get ready to evacuate because we will retaliate.
The message has been delivered through official channels, and some unofficial signalling, and reflects concerns in Russia that Ukraine might try to launch a long-range drone strike on one of the Kremlin's most important political and military events.
The parade has been scaled down this year, another reflection of how badly the war in Ukraine is going for Russia.
Only marching Russian personnel
For the first time in nearly 20 years, there will be no tanks, missile launchers, or other military hardware on Red Square. Just marching Russian personnel.
The Kremlin said Russian tanks are needed in Ukraine, pushing forward with Russian president Vladimir Putin's so-called 'Special Military Operation'.
The real reason, of course, is a fear of Ukrainian drones, which are increasingly penetrating Moscow's air defences.
President Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said speculation that Ukraine might try to attack the parade represented a "terrorist threat".
On Monday, the Russian defence ministry warned that if Ukraine did try to strike, the Kremlin would launch a "retaliatory, massive missile strike".
Russia's foreign ministry said it had warned foreign embassies in Kyiv to heed that warning and told foreign diplomats to be prepared to leave.
"The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly urges the authorities of your country... to treat this statement with the utmost responsibility and ensure the timely evacuation from the city of Kyiv of the personnel of diplomatic and other representations in connection with the inevitability of a retaliatory strike on Kyiv by Russia's armed forces," a spokeswoman said.
The Kremlin pointed to comments Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky made on a visit to Armenia earlier this week.
Mr Zelensky reportedly told the EU meeting that "it will be the first time in many, many years they cannot afford military equipment, and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling."
In the past few days, Ukraine has launched a series of long-range drone strikes into Russia. Officials said 50 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over Moscow alone.
Russia has called a unilateral ceasefire for 9 and 10 June. It claims it will pause all frontline combat operations and halt air strikes on Ukraine.
For its part, Ukraine also called its own brief unilateral ceasefire on 6 May, which Russia ignored – launching strikes that left more than a dozen dead across the country.
Vladimir Putin's 'strange and twisted' logic
Kyiv has not officially responded to the Russian ceasefire, but Mr Zelensky said it showed Mr Putin's "strange and twisted" logic.
"They want permission from Ukraine to hold their parade, so they can safely march onto the square for one hour once a year, and then go back to killing our people and waging war again," Mr Zelensky said in his evening address.
Russia's annual Victory Day parade commemorates the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. It comes the day after Victory in Europe (VE) Day, which is marked by Western powers, including Britain.
For foreign embassies in Kyiv, the Russian warning poses a difficult dilemma. Few of them are likely to fully evacuate their embassies solely based on Russian threats – the 'optics' of that are not good.
But they will almost certainly review contingency plans, security procedures, and shelter arrangements as Saturday's parade draws closer.
Whether the Russians have intelligence about a possible Ukrainian attack or are just trying to instil fear into foreign diplomats is unclear.
But it does underline the broader reality of this war, and the fact that it now increasingly reaches far beyond the battlefield itself.
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