"Russia Has Fought to the Point Where Even Their Parade Depends on Us": Zelenskyy As Putin Threatens Kyiv Strike

7 May 2026 | Kyiv / Moscow / Venice / Washington

KYIV, Ukraine – The parade is all that matters now. Not the dead. Not the ceasefire. Not the thousands of civilians killed since Russia's full-scale invasion began. Just the tanks rolling across Red Square.

Russia has told foreign embassies in Kyiv to evacuate their staff in case it decides to attack the Ukrainian capital during the Victory Day parade in Moscow this weekend. In a note to diplomatic missions, Moscow warned it would launch a "retaliatory" strike on Kyiv, "including against decision-making centres," if Ukraine disrupted the commemorations.

"Russia's choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "Russia has fought to the point where even their main parade now depends on us."

"Even Their Main Parade Now Depends on Us"

Ukraine proposed its own ceasefire starting on 6 May, which Russia ignored. Zelenskyy said Russia – which did not confirm its adherence to Ukraine's proposal – had committed 1,820 violations by late morning on Wednesday.

"Russia's choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives," Zelenskyy said. Ukraine was ready to work for peace but "if the one person in Moscow who cannot live without war is interested only in a parade and nothing else, that is another matter."

The Russian leader has demanded a narrow ceasefire on strictly his own terms – a two-day pause to protect his showpiece annual parade. Ukraine offered an open-ended truce. Moscow responded with threats.

Deadly Strikes Across Ukraine: 27 Killed in One Day

The death toll from Russian attacks throughout eastern Ukraine rose to at least 27 people on Tuesday – one of the worst rounds of strikes so far this year. The deadly strikes came just hours before the deadline for Kyiv's ceasefire proposal.

In Zaporizhzhia, an attack by aerial bombs and drones killed at least 12 people. Three aerial bombs dropped on Kramatorsk killed six. In Dnipro, a Russian attack killed four. An overnight strike on gas production facilities in the Poltava region killed five people, including one in the neighboring Kharkiv region.

A Ukrainian drone attack in Russian-occupied Crimea killed five civilians in Dzhankoi, according to Moscow-installed authorities. On Wednesday, Russian drones hit a kindergarten in Sumy, killing a security guard and wounding two others. No children were there at the time.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote: "With mere hours until Ukraine's ceasefire proposal comes into force, Russia shows no signs of preparing to end hostilities. On the contrary, Moscow intensifies terror."

Hungary Returns $82 Million in Seized Ukrainian Assets

In a significant diplomatic development, Hungary has returned cash and gold of Ukraine's Oschadbank seized by Budapest's security service in March. Under now lame-duck Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who lost recent elections to Péter Magyar, Hungary detained seven Ukrainians transporting around $82 million in cash and gold.

Ukraine denounced the seizure as racketeering and said it was a routine transfer. Both funds and gold were back in Ukraine in full, Zelenskyy said, stressing Hungary's "constructive approach and civilised step." Magyar is due to take the oath of office on Saturday – a change in leadership that may signal a thaw in Budapest-Kyiv relations.

Pussy Riot Storm Venice Biennale: "Curated by Putin, Dead Bodies Included"

The Russian pavilion at the Venice Biennale was forced temporarily to shut its doors after the activist group Pussy Riot staged a chaotic protest against Russia's inclusion in the art festival.

Pussy Riot stage a protest against Russia's inclusion in Venice Biennale, forcing the Russian pavilion to temporarily close.

Wearing pink balaclavas, the protesters ran towards the Russian pavilion where they gathered outside and lit flares while playing punk music and shouting slogans, including "Blood is Russia's Art." They wore slogans on their bodies such as "Curated by Putin, dead bodies included," "Russia kills, biennale exhibits" and "Russian art, Ukrainian blood." A statue outside the pavilion was wrapped in a Ukrainian flag.

Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founding member of Pussy Riot who led the protest, said: "It's weird to me that Europe keeps saying that Ukraine is a shield for the entire European continent but it opens its doors time and time again to Russian propaganda. It's heartbreaking for me."

Revealed: Russia's Top Secret Spy School Training GRU Hackers

An exclusive investigation by a consortium of six outlets – including the Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, the Insider, Delfi and VSquare – has revealed the existence of a secret faculty inside Bauman Moscow State Technical University, known simply as Department 4, or "Special Training."

Here, a select group of students are quietly prepared for careers in the GRU – Russia's military intelligence directorate, whose operatives have hacked western parliaments, poisoned dissidents on foreign soil and interfered in elections across Europe and the US.

Russian president Vladimir Putin during a visit to a newly built headquarters of the GRU in Moscow on 8 November 2006.

The curriculum includes password attacks, software vulnerabilities, trojans, and developing computer viruses. Students are required to carry out "practical penetration tests" and must develop a virus as part of their assessment. Advanced students complete a seminar on developing disinformation campaigns, tasked with creating social media videos using "manipulation, pressure and hidden propaganda."

Among the teachers is Viktor Netyksho, a western-sanctioned major general who commanded Unit 26165 – a hacking group known as Fancy Bear – whose officers were indicted by the US Department of Justice for interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

Graduates from the program have been assigned to GRU units, including Sandworm – accused of unleashing some of the most destructive cyber-attacks of the past decade, including targeting Ukraine's power grid in 2015, Emmanuel Macron's presidential campaign in 2017, and the South Korean Winter Olympics in 2018.

US Approves $373 Million Missile Sale to Ukraine

Separately, the US state department approved the potential sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions - Extended Range and related equipment to Ukraine for $373.6 million. The principal contractor will be Boeing Company. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, discussing "the US-Russia relationship, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Iran" at Lavrov's request.

What Comes Next?

Victory Day approaches. The parade will roll. The threats have been issued. And Ukraine is bracing.

"Russia has fought to the point where even their main parade now depends on us," Zelenskyy said. The question is whether Putin will choose the parade over peace – and how many more Ukrainians will die before he decides.

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