Moscow shuts down airports and mobile signals as Victory Day parade looms

Kremlin tightens security before Russia’s biggest national celebration on 9 May amid fears of Ukrainian drone strikes Russia shut down airports and temporarily cut mobile internet access for many users in Moscow on Tuesday, as it tightened security before the 9 May Victory Day parade marking the defeat of Nazi Germany. The parade – Russia’s foremost national celebration – has already been scaled back and will proceed without heavy military hardware for the first time in nearly two decades, amid fears of long-range Ukrainian drone strikes. Ukraine has recently demonstrated its ability to penetrate Moscow’s dense air defence systems: on Monday morning a drone struck a high-rise apartment building just a few miles from the Kremlin. In what appeared to be an effort to shield the military parade, Moscow earlier this month declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine for 8-9 May and warned of a “massive missile strike” on central Kyiv if it were violated. Victory Day has been central to Vladimi Putin’s vision of Russian identity throughout his more than 25 years in power. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has intensified its use of the annual celebration, with Putin d