Russia has urged foreign countries to evacuate their diplomats and other personnel from the Ukrainian capital Kiev due to possible retaliatory strikes if Ukraine carries out an attack amid Victory Day celebrations on May 9.
In a statement on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a note was sent to all foreign diplomatic missions and representative offices of international organisations accredited with the ministry.
The note recalled a Defence Ministry statement released on Monday, which noted remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that day.
It urged authorities in respective countries and the leadership of respective organisations to take the Defence Ministry's statement with the "utmost responsibility" and ensure the "timely evacuation" of diplomatic and other personnel, as well as citizens, from Kiev.
The note cited the "inevitability of a retaliatory strike" by Russia against Kiev, including its "decision-making centres," if Ukraine carries out strikes during Victory Day celebrations scheduled for May 9.
In an address at the inaugural session of the 8th European Political Community Summit in the Armenian capital Yerevan, Zelenskyy recalled that Russia announced that it would hold the annual May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow without military equipment.
"If that happens, it will be the first time in many, many years. They cannot afford military equipment – and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square," he said.
'Justified responses'
On April 29, the Russian Defence Ministry said the country's military equipment column will not participate in the military parade this year "due to the current operational situation."
The Defence Ministry statement released Monday also announced that Russia will implement a unilateral ceasefire on May 8-9 on the occasion of Victory Day celebrations, and expressed hope that the Ukrainian side will follow suit.
Ukraine announced the same day that it would observe its own unilateral ceasefire starting at midnight Tuesday (2100GMT).
Zelenskyy has accused Russia of "spurning" Kiev's ceasefire proposal through strikes carried out since then and said in an evening video address that Ukraine will determine its "fully justified responses" depending on the situation overnight and on Thursday.
Increased attacks
Both sides have stepped up strikes in recent weeks.
Kiev on Tuesday hit deep inside Russia, killing two people in Cheboksary, a city on the Volga, hundreds of miles from Ukraine. The attacks have created a sense of unease in Russia ahead of the May 9 parade.
Moscow has said it will remove military hardware from the procession for the first time in almost 20 years.
It has also started intermittent city-wide internet shutdowns lasting until Saturday.
Talks on ending what has spiralled into Europe's worst conflict since World War II have shown little progress and have been sidelined by the Iran war.
Moscow is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from four regions it claims as its own — terms seen as unacceptable to Kiev.
