Kremlin Strike Before Victory Day Still Haunts Russia Amid New Threats From Kyiv

Ukraine has already carried out a strike on the Kremlin on the eve of Victory Day, yet many Russians believe they never saw an adequate response.

Kyiv's Truce Initiative Raises Doubts in Moscow

The ceasefire announced by Kyiv for May 6 in the special military operation zone never materialized. Russian authorities did not officially comment on the initiative from the Kyiv government, apparently assuming it was little more than political theater designed to justify a possible attempt to attack Moscow on May 9.

Volodymyr Zelensky stated yesterday that "Russia has fought itself into a situation where even its main parade now depends on us, and this is a clear signal that the war must end.” According to him, "Russia violated the ceasefire,” therefore Ukraine would respond symmetrically and, "depending on the situation today and tomorrow,” decide on its further actions.

Following those remarks, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged everyone in Kyiv to take seriously the Defense Ministry's warning about a possible retaliatory strike against the city center. The statement confirmed that Russia would unilaterally declare a three-day ceasefire beginning on the night of May 7-8.

There is little doubt in Moscow that the Ukrainian armed forces will violate it.

"The safety of Western embassies in Kyiv can be disregarded. On the contrary, targets should be chosen closer to the embassies of Germany, Poland, Britain, and so on,” military analyst Boris Rozhin wrote on Telegram.

Memories of the 2023 Kremlin Strike Return

Observers in Russia have also recalled that Ukrainian media openly conduct polls asking readers whom they would like to see become the next victim of a terrorist attack in Russia, while, according to Moscow, Western sponsors of Kyiv ignore such rhetoric.

"They did not nurture this enraged scum in Kyiv for nothing,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on social media.

On May 2, 2023, Ukraine carried out a drone strike against the Kremlin. At the time, the Russian Foreign Ministry declared that all those responsible "would be found” and that "severe and inevitable punishment awaits them.” The ministry also warned that "terrorist and sabotage activities by the Ukrainian armed forces are gaining unprecedented momentum” and described the "attempt on the life of the Russian president” as especially cynical because it occurred on the eve of Victory Day and the May 9 parade.

Calls for a Harsher Response

In the aftermath of that strike, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev called for the elimination of Zelensky.

"There are no options left except the physical elimination of Zelensky and his clique. He is not even needed to sign an act of unconditional surrender. Hitler, as we know, did not sign one either. There will always be some successor like Admiral Dönitz as a stand-in president,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

Ukrainian anonymous Telegram channels suggest that Kyiv is unlikely to strike Moscow directly and may instead limit itself to other targets.

There is little doubt that any attacks would be painful. Many Russians therefore expect what they consider to be a proportionate response from Moscow — perhaps even involving the "Oreshnik” missile system — rather than another round of rhetorical statements.