Extra security measures being taken for Putin at Victory Day events: Kremlin

The Kremlin said on Thursday that extra security measures were being put in place for Russian President Vladimir Putin in case Ukraine attacked May 9 celebrations marking the anniversary of victory in World War Two.

The Kremlin also said it would begin a two-day ceasefire with Ukraine starting at midnight that is meant to cover the parade, after ignoring a Ukrainian ceasefire earlier this week.

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Moscow has warned foreign diplomats in Kyiv that it will strike the Ukrainian capital if Ukraine targets its May 9 commemorations.

“Yes, we are talking about the 8th and 9th of May,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, when asked by AFP if the ceasefire would come into effect from midnight.

Asked about the Ukrainian ceasefire on May 6 -- a counter-offer by Kyiv, which has dismissed Moscow’s demand to stop fighting for the May 9 parade as “utter cynicism” -- Peskov said: “There was no Russian reaction to this.”

Peskov said Russian security services were preparing for Saturday’s event, “particularly given the terrorist threat” from Ukraine.
Kyiv has struck Russian cities with drones as far as the Urals in recent days.

Peskov also said internet outages -- which have caused some concern for Russians -- in Moscow were “necessary.”

“They are being implemented to ensure the safety of citizens, which is an absolute priority,” he said.

Moscow has scaled back its May 9 parade -- which marks the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany -- this year as Ukraine struck deeper into Russia.

It has removed military hardware from the event for the first time in almost 20 years.

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