Russia pulls air defense to Moscow before parade: Kyiv declares new strike opportunities
Russia is transferring air defense systems from the regions to Moscow ahead of the parade. Ukraine states that this indicates the Kremlin’s fear for the capital and also opens new opportunities for long-range strikes.
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Russian air defense (illustrative photo) / © Associated Press
The Russian leadership is strengthening air defense around Moscow by moving air defense systems from other regions of the Russian Federation. Kyiv says that this does not indicate the Kremlin's preparation for a ceasefire, but rather a fear for the May 9th parade in the Russian capital.
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to Ukrainian estimates, additional rings of air defense have been built up around Moscow over the past few weeks. To achieve this, the Russians are moving air defense assets from the regions on a large scale.
Kyiv notes these actions fly in the face of Moscow’s public claims about being ready for a ceasefire. Instead, Ukraine believes the Kremlin is obsessed with securing the Moscow parade.
"This proves the Russian leadership isn't preparing for the ceasefire they've been talking so much about, and cares more about their parade in Moscow than the rest of Russia," the statement reads.
At the same time, Kyiv believes shifting Russian air defenses to the capital creates fresh opportunities for Ukrainian long-range strikes against Russia's military and strategic assets.
The Ukrainian side stated that specific priorities for this will be determined separately.