Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack on Moscow days before WW2 parade

Russia says Ukraine launched a drone attack on Moscow - days before the start of a ceasefire, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with a World War Two parade.

Moscow's four major airports shut for a few hours on Tuesday amid the barrage, authorities said. There were no casualties and Ukraine has not commented.

Moscow is due to hold a parade on 9 May to mark the victory of the Soviet Union and allies over Nazi Germany. This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 and will see world leaders, including China's Xi Jinping, in Russia for the event.

Putin has called for a three-day ceasefire from 8 May - something Ukraine has not committed to. Kyiv wants a longer truce.

"Fire will be halted, but should the Kyiv regime fail to do the same and should it continue trying to strike our positions and facilities, then an appropriate response will be given immediately," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Russia's ceasefire plans as a "theatrical play". Instead, he has been pushing for a ceasefire of at least 30 days where there would be a halt to missile and drone strikes on civilian targets.

He has also reportedly said his country cannot guarantee the safety of anyone travelling to Moscow this week.

"Our position is very simple for all countries traveling to Russia on May 9: We cannot be held responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation," Zelensky was quoted as saying over the weekend by Ukrainian news agency Interfax.

Ukraine's foreign ministry went a step further, calling on "all foreign states to refrain from the participation of their military personnel in the parade in Moscow".

In a statement on Tuesday, it said taking part in the event would be "regarded by Ukraine as an insult to the memory of the victory over Nazism [and] the memory of millions of Ukrainian front-line soldiers who liberated our country and all of Europe from Nazism eight decades ago".

The Kremlin had previously announced a 30-hour truce with Ukraine over Easter, where both sides reported a decrease in fighting, but accused each other of hundreds of violations.

Russian authorities said the Ukraine attack was the second in as many nights.

Moscow's mayor said at least 19 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted "from different directions". Sergei Sobyanin added that debris had landed on one of Moscow's key highways.

The governors of other Russian cities, including Penza and Voronezh, also said they had been targeted.

Meanwhile, Ukraine reported downing 54 drones launched overnight from Russia, and several strikes across the country - including in Kyiv.

Four people have died as a result of the most recent attacks - three in the Sumy region, close to the Russian border, and one in the Black Sea city of Odesa.

Kharkiv's regional head, Oleh Syniehubov, said 11 people had been injured and the city's central market had been destroyed in a fire. At least four others were injured in the southern city of Nikopol on Tuesday morning, the regional head reported.

Fighting also continues in Russia's Kursk region more than a week after Moscow said it had pushed Ukrainian troops out. Ukraine had denied that report and said its forces were still active there.

A total of 200 combat engagements occurred between Ukrainian and Russian troops on Monday, Ukrainian military authorities said.

Ukraine pushed into the Russian border region in a surprise incursion last August, but has since gained little ground.