Zelensky urges foreign officials to skip Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations

Source: Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged foreign governments to stay away from Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9.

In an address on May 7, Zelensky said Ukraine had received word that representatives of some countries close to Russia planned to attend events in Moscow. He called it a strange thing to want at a time like this and said Ukraine did not recommend it.

Kyiv had proposed a ceasefire beginning May 6, he said, but Russia responded to the peace proposal with new strikes and new threats.

Zelensky said Russia wanted Ukraine’s permission to hold its parade — to safely walk out onto the square for an hour once a year — and then go back to killing Ukrainians and fighting. Russians were already talking about strikes after May 9, he added, calling the logic of Russia’s leadership strange and clearly irrational.

The leaders of Belarus, Malaysia, Laos, and the partially recognized states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are expected to take part in the May 9 parade in Moscow.

Russia had previously announced a unilateral ceasefire from midnight on May 8 through May 10. Ukraine responded by proposing a truce beginning May 6, but Russia rejected the proposal and continued striking Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry warned that if Ukraine attempted to disrupt the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, Russian forces would launch a retaliatory, large-scale missile strike on the center of Kyiv.

As Russia prepared for May 9, authorities in more than 20 Russian cities canceled Victory Day parades, while Moscow and several other cities decided to hold parades without military hardware.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Why is it
important
to support
Meduza
now?Read here

Zelensky urges foreign officials to skip Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations

{{ header_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{#is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}{{^is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ second_title }}

Zelensky urges foreign officials to skip Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations

{{{ alt }}}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{#is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}{{^is_light}}{{ title }} {{ second_title }}{{/is_light}}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ second_title }}