At least two people have reportedly been killed after a night of heavy fighting between Ukraine and Russia – with drone strikes on Kyiv and Moscow.
The fighting comes a day ahead of a planned parade in the Russian capital to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two – with President Vladimir Putin proposing a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the event.
Ukraine has not agreed to the proposal and has pushed for a truce lasting at least 30 days.
Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the messaging app, Telegram, two people had been killed in the Ukrainian capital by the latest Russian strikes.
It is the third night running that Moscow has been targeted by drones, again prompting the city’s four airports to be closed for several hours.
At the end of April, the Kremlin announced a temporary ceasefire from 8 May to 10 May to coincide with events planned in Moscow marking Victory in Europe Day.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be among the leaders of several nations hosted by Vladimir Putin over a long holiday weekend.
In the run up to the celebrations, Russia has accused Ukraine of repeatedly launching drone strikes on its capital.
Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on social media that Russian air defence units destroyed at least 14 Ukrainian drones after 22:00 local time on Tuesday (20:00 BST). No damage has been reported.
In Kyiv, falling debris from drones sparked fires in apartments and other buildings in three districts.
Mayor Klitschko said the two people who died were in a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, which had been hit by fragments from a drone strike.
On social media, he also said that four children were among seven people who had been injured.
A previous ceasefire over Easter repeatedly broke down, both Russian and Ukraine accusing each other of multiple breaches.
Despite a promise of a fresh truce over the coming days, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called the measure “pointless”. Instead, offering an unconditional ceasefire over at least 30 days in line with a US proposal launched in March.