Foreign Affairs

Widespread disruption is expected across Russia’s capital during the May 9 Victory Day parade after the Kremlin decided to shut down the city’s internet and SMS services for several hours.

The decision to shut down the internet comes as a precautionary measure after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made veiled threats to attack the parade with long-range Ukrainian-made drones and launched an intensified barrage of drone attacks that have caused civil aviation chaos across the country.

“Ukraine cannot guarantee the safety of anyone that attends the parade,” Zelenskiy said in public comments in the run up to the event.

Moscow staff report that the internet was already slowing down on May 7 as the authorities prepare for a total blackout during the annual parade that this year will mark the 80 anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in what the Russians call the Great Patriotic War.