Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it had warned diplomatic missions to evacuate staff promptly from Kyiv in the event of a mass strike by Moscow in response to any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt Russia's May 9 Victory Day commemorations.
Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a video posted on Telegram, urged diplomats to heed a warning of a strike issued on Monday by the Defence Ministry in the event of any Ukrainian attack connected to commemorations and a military parade in Red Square.
"The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly urges the authorities of your country...to treat this statement with the utmost responsibility and ensure the timely evacuation from the city of Kyiv of the personnel of diplomatic and other representations in connection with the inevitability of a retaliatory strike on Kyiv by Russia's Armed Forces," Ms Zakharova said.
Ms Zakharova said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hadmade "aggressive and threatening statements" about disrupting the commemorations during remarks he made on Monday at a meeting in Armenia of the European Political Community.
"Several EU countries were present," she said. "None of them reprimanded the ringleader of the Kyiv regime."
Listen back: Ukraine reports Russian strikes as ceasefire due to begin
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
In his remarks in Armenia, Mr Zelensky noted a Russian announcement that the commemorations were being scaled down and taking place without military hardware for security reasons.
Mr Zelensky added: "It will be the first time in many, many years they cannot afford military equipment and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia had decided to reject efforts to halt fighting and save lives by launching fresh attacks on Ukraine, which had called a unilateral ceasefire.
His comments raise the spectre of retaliatory Ukrainian strikes on Moscow during mass public events celebrating the end of World War II on 9 May, after the Kremlin announced it would hold off attacks on Ukraine that day, hoping Kyiv would do the same.
"Russia's choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives," Mr Zelensky wrote on social media.
Ukraine, he added, had earlier vowed to "act in kind" to the Russian ceasefire proposal this weekend, when Russians typically flood the streets across the country to mark victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
"It is obvious to any reasonable person that a full-scale war and the daily murdering of people are a bad time for public 'celebrations'," the Ukrainian leader said.
Frontline fighting
A Ukrainian officer at the eastern front, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "The enemy continued to carry out infantry raids and attempts to storm our positions."
Since Russia "did not comply" with the Kyiv-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!".
It comes as Kyiv said at least one person had been killed in the overnight strikes.
Russian forces also struck a kindergarten in the eastern border region of Sumy this morning, killing two people, officials said.
