Russian lawmaker warns of “proportional response” over threats to May 9 parade

A member of the Russian State Duma’s defence committee has warned that Russia would deliver a “proportional and unavoidable response” if there were any attempts to strike the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9.

Andrey Kolesnik made the comments in an interview with News.ru, according to the report.

He said that under Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the situation, in his view, would continue to deteriorate, and alleged that the Ukrainian side would seek to target infrastructure sites.

“In the event of provocations by the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the Victory Day parade on 9 May, we will carry out retaliatory strikes. The response will be unavoidable. It will be very serious and proportional,” Kolesnik said.

He also accused Zelenskyy of having “become brazen” and claimed that he was now “running the European Union”, adding that Russia should consider what to do with this “scarecrow” going forward.

Kolesnik further said that a “pre-emptive strike on locations from which drones could be launched” would not be out of place.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Ukrainian drones could appear during Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9.

Speaking at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, he noted that Russia plans to hold its annual military parade on Red Square, but claimed it may take place without military hardware on display.

“If this is confirmed, it would be the first such case in many years where the country is unable to ensure the presence of equipment at the parade,” he said.

He added that the possibility of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles appearing during the event “cannot be ruled out.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev