A wave of Ukrainian drone strikes has paralysed digital systems across Russia and left Moscow reeling just days before President Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day parade, a former Ukrainian government adviser has claimed. The coordinated barrage has hammered military infrastructure for more than 24 hours, with Ukraine claiming Russia’s air defences are being overwhelmed.
Anton Geraschenko, a former adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry, posted on X: “Drone attacks on military infrastructure on Russian territory have continued for more than 24 hours, Russian media report. Russian air defence is being worn out.” He added: “Russian Telegram channels report that in Moscow, there are issues with online access, almost nothing works: cafes and stores are closed in the city centre, only cash is accepted for payment, it is impossible to order food, as well as to call a cab.”
Internet outages have hit major cities including Tula, Yaroslavl, Tver, Saransk and Kursk.
In Moscow and its surrounding region, mobile internet, ATMs and digital payments have collapsed.
Officials are planning to impose further restrictions in Voronezh and Chuvashia, where road traffic will also be blocked on May 9.
The Kremlin has blamed the disruption on preparations for Thursday’s parade — but Ukrainian officials say it is the result of deliberate drone strikes aimed at crippling infrastructure ahead of Mr Putin’s annual show of strength.
In the capital, the impact is visible. Central Moscow is in partial lockdown, with transport networks disrupted and digital transactions halted. Flights at several airports were suspended earlier this week after drones reportedly targeted key sites near the capital.
Military analysts say the strikes are designed to erode Russian defences, expose weaknesses, and undermine the propaganda value of Victory Day, which commemorates the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Despite the chaos, the Kremlin insists the parade will go ahead. Red Square remains sealed off, and rehearsals have continued under tight security.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend alongside Mr Putin. Several leaders from former Soviet states have also been invited, though not all are expected to show.
The drone campaign comes as Russian forces announce a new “ceasefire” to coincide with the celebrations — an offer Ukraine is treating with extreme scepticism.
Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group, dismissed the Russian truce as theatre.
He told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “A ceasefire declared in a couple of areas is not a truce, it’s a smoke break. So we have no intention of expecting any kind of truce, and we don’t see any preparations for a peaceful gesture.”
Mr Trehubov said the same tactic was used over Easter: “The last ceasefire — we didn’t notice it on half the fronts at all. On the northern fronts, we noticed it a little, but even there, the Russians initially wanted to carry out some kind of regrouping, in the Kupiansk direction in particular.”
He said fighting continued in the Pokrovsk, Toretsk, Kramatorsk and Novopavlivka directions, and accused Mr Putin of simply trying to shield the Victory Day ceremonies from embarrassment—or later blame Ukraine for violating a truce that never existed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country is open to a ceasefire—just not a short-term one for PR purposes. Kyiv has proposed a 30-day halt to fighting, which Moscow has ignored.
Mr Geraschenko confirmed that disruptions extended well beyond the battlefield. He said: “It is reported that the mobile Internet is not working in Tula, Yaroslavl, Tver, Saransk and Kursk. Failures are also observed in the work of payment terminals and validators in public transport. In Moscow and Moscow region, in addition to the Internet, ATMs aren’t working.”
He added: “There are also plans to limit online access in Russia’s Voronezh region and Chuvashia. In the latter, traffic will also be limited on May 9.”
With the Victory Day parade now set against a backdrop of drone strikes, blackouts and digital paralysis, Ukraine’s message is clear: the war is not on pause, and the Kremlin is not in control.