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Russia warns Kyiv diplomats to evacuate in case of strike

Firefighters work at the site of a Russian drone strike on a kindergarten in Sumy, Ukraine
At least four people died in Russian attacks, including two at a kindergarten in the northern Sumy region, according to officials

Russia has warned foreign diplomats in Kyiv that it would attack the city if Ukraine disrupted World War II commemorations in Moscow this weekend, as attacks from both sides continue.

Russia did not elaborate on its threat, and Ukraine did not immediately respond.

Russia and Ukraine traded strikes, wounding 13 people in the Russian border city of Bryansk and one person in Ukraine's Dnipro, officials from both sides said.

Russia marks World War II Victory Day each year on 9 May with a massive military parade through Red Square.

The country this week declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine between 8 and 9 May to coincide with the commemorations.

In a note to foreign diplomatic missions and international organisations, Russia warned it would launch a "retaliatory strike" on the Ukrainian capital, "including against decision-making centres", if Ukraine disrupted the commemorations this Saturday.

Russian National Guard officers walk across Red Square decorated for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia
Russian National Guard officers walk across Red Square decorated for the Victory Day military parade

It urged them to "ensure the timely evacuation of personnel from diplomatic and other missions, as well as citizens, from the city of Kyiv".

There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobianin said that at least five drones "flying toward Moscow" had been destroyed.

One person was wounded in a Russian strike on Dnipro, according to an update from Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the regional administration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised Russia for demanding a ceasefire on 9 May, an important holiday for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Zelensky suggested on Monday that Russia was afraid Ukrainian drones would "buzz over Red Square".

Ukraine proposed its own ceasefire for 6 May, which Russia ignored.

"Today, virtually all day long, virtually every hour, we have been receiving reports of strikes from various regions," the Ukrainian leader said.

In his evening address, President Zelensky said Ukraine would "respond in kind" to Russia's violations and decide its next steps accordingly.

Ukrainian officials reported multiple attacks throughout yesterday, when Ukraine's unilateral ceasefire was due to be in force.

At least four people died in Russian attacks, including two at a kindergarten in the northern Sumy region, according to officials.

Russia says it destroyed 350 Ukrainian drones

Russia's defence ministry said today that its forces had destroyed almost 350 Ukrainian drones overnight.

This morning, a Russian strike wounded one person in the central-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the regional administration said.

Fighting also continued on the front line.

A Ukrainian officer at the eastern front, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP: "The enemy continued to carry out infantry raids and attempts to storm our positions."

The Kremlin Equestrian School's horsemen with Soviet Union flags seen during performance dedicated to Victory Day 9 May at the VDNKh. The Kremlin Equestrian School was founded in 2006 under the aegis of the Moscow Kremlin Commandant's Service of the Federal Guard Service of the Russian Federation.
Ukrainian drone attacks have created a sense of unease in Russia ahead of the 9 May parade

Since Russia "did not comply" with the Ukraine-suggested ceasefire, "our unit responded in kind and countered all provocations", he added.

Another frontline commander said: "The intensity of combat operations remains at the same level."

His unit, he said, was also responding: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"

The Kremlin did not comment on the Ukraine-proposed ceasefire, only calling for Ukraine to halt attacks for 9 May.

Both sides have stepped up strikes in recent weeks, and the more than four-year war has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians.

Ukraine struck residential buildings in the Russian border city of Bryansk this morning wounding 13 people, according to the region's governor Aleksandr Bogomaz.

On Tuesday, Ukraine 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.

Russia 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 conflict.

Russia is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from four regions it claims as its own - terms seen as unacceptable to Ukraine.

Russian drones crash in Latvia

Several Russian drones entered Latvian airspace overnight, with two of them crashing and one causing a brief fire at an oil depot, the army said on Thursday.

"Several unmanned aerial vehicles entered Latvian airspace" the army of the EU and NATO member bordering Russia said in a statement, adding that two of them "crashed."

One of the drones crashed at an oil storage site in Rezekne, in the east of the country, the national police said. A fire broke out but was quickly brought under control by firefighters.

"As long as Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, it is possible that such incidents will be repeated, when a foreign unmanned aircraft enters Latvian airspace or approaches it," the army said.

Several drones from Russia and Ukraine have crashed in the trio of former Soviet republics in the Baltics -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.