AFP, Moscow

The Kremlin yesterday said it would begin a two-day ceasefire with Ukraine starting at midnight that is meant to cover its patriotic May 9 parade, after ignoring a Ukrainian ceasefire earlier this week.

Moscow has warned foreign diplomats in Kyiv that it will strike the Ukrainian capital if Ukraine targets its May 9 commemorations.

“Yes, we are talking about the 8th and 9th of May,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, when asked by AFP if the ceasefire would come into effect from midnight.

Peskov said Russian security services were preparing for Saturday’s event, “particularly given the terrorist threat” from Ukraine. Kyiv has struck Russian cities with drones as far as the Urals in recent days.

Peskov also said internet outages -- which have caused some concern for Russians -- in Moscow were “necessary”.

Moscow has scaled back its May 9 parade -- which marks the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany -- this year as Ukraine struck deeper into Russia. It has removed military hardware from the event for the first time in nearly 20 years.