Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened a 'massive retaliatory missile strike' on Central Kyiv if Ukrainian drones disrupt his Victory Day parade in Moscow on Saturday, 9 May, warning that civilians and foreign diplomats should leave the city if Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy ignores the demand.
The warning came after days of increasingly public brinkmanship over the annual Red Square showpiece, which marks the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany.
The Kremlin has cast the 81st anniversary parade as a sacrosanct event even as its full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year, while Kyiv has used the occasion in past years to highlight Russia's mounting losses and its own growing long-range capabilities.
In a statement carried by Russian state channels, the Defence Ministry said it 'will take all necessary measures to ensure the security' of the parade traditionally hosted by President Vladimir Putin.
The statement went on to threaten that if 'the Kyiv regime attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian Armed Forces will launch a massive retaliatory missile strike on the centre of Kyiv.'
⚡️ Putin announces TRUCE for May 8-9 Victory DayWARNING TO UKRAINE: Attempt to disrupt celebrations means Russian army will HIT KIEV’S CENTER — MoDCivilians and diplomatic missions PRE-WARNEDpic.twitter.com/vwSUyojkpg
The same announcement 'warn[ed] the civilian population of Kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city promptly.'
Russian commentators and military-linked channels immediately linked the threat to the Oreshnik, a new hypersonic missile system that Moscow has been showcasing as proof of its technological edge.
Putin has previously boasted that the conventional version of Oreshnik can match the destructive power of anuclear blast. 'If you use several such systems in one strike at once — two, three, or four systems — it will be comparable in strength to a nuclear strike,' he said in an earlier public appearance.
His favoured tabloid,Komsomolskaya Pravda, underlined the point on Friday, stressing that Oreshnik 'also has a nuclear configuration.'
Source: International Business Times UK
