Medvedev: Nobody Can Guarantee Kyiv’s Safety If Ukraine Attacks Moscow on May 9

Date: 03 May 2025 - 21:46

News ID: ۱۳۹۱۳۳

MOSCOW (Dispatches) –
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said on Saturday that nobody could guarantee that the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv would survive to see May 10 if Ukraine attacked Moscow during World War Two victory celebrations on May 9.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in May in the war with Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 - when Putin will host international leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping for celebrations to commemorate victory over Nazi Germany - and May 10.
Responding to Moscow’s offer of the three-day ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was ready as long as the ceasefire would be 30 days in length, something Putin had already ruled out in the near term, saying he wants a long-term settlement not a brief pause.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the traditional May 9 victory parade.
The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted a definitive response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer of a three-day ceasefire next week, criticizing the reaction so far as ambiguous and historically wrong.
The mayor of the Russian port city of Novorossiysk declared a state of emergency on Saturday after he said a Ukrainian drone attack had damaged residential buildings and injured at least five people, including two children.
Andrei Kravchenko, the mayor, announced his decision on his official Telegram account which showed him inspecting the damage to apartment buildings and giving orders to officials.
Kravchenko said one of the injured people, a woman, was in hospital in a serious situation.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, whose air force said Russia had attacked Ukraine overnight with 183 drones and two ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have finalized new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end its war on Ukraine, according to three U.S. officials and a source familiar with the issue.
At the same time, the U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of F-16 training and sustainment, along with related equipment, to Ukraine for $310 million, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The targets include state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom and major entities involved in the natural resources and banking sectors, said an administration official, who like the other sources requested anonymity to discuss the issue.
The official provided no further details.
It was far from clear, however, whether the package will be approved by Trump, whose sympathy for Moscow’s statements and actions have given way to frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spurning of his calls for a ceasefire and peace talks.
The U.S. National Security Council “is trying to coordinate some set of more punitive actions against Russia,” said the source familiar with the issue. “This will have to be signed off by Trump.”
“It’s totally his call,” confirmed a second U.S. official.
“From the beginning, the president has been clear about his commitment to achieving a full and comprehensive ceasefire,” said National Security Council Spokesman James Hewitt. “We do not comment on the details of ongoing negotiations.”