UAVs over moscow and the May 9 “ceasefire”: military expert Pavlo Lakiichuk explained Zelensky’s statements and the kremlin’s signals

Statements about the possible appearance of Ukrainian UAVs over moscow on May 9 have both a military and a political component, and information about a “ceasefire” is not the result of negotiations with Ukraine. This opinion was expressed in a comment to OstroV by the head of security programs at the Center for Global Studies “Strategy XXI”, reserve Navy captain first rank of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Pavlo Lakiichuk.

According to the expert, even the very fact of statements about the possibility of strikes on moscow has a practical effect.

“From this point of view, the president can say that Ukrainian drones can reach Red Square. If they reach it — that’s good. At the very least, russians will be convinced that they need to know where shelters are, be able to distinguish alarm signals, have basic training, first aid kits, etc.”, - Lakiichuk explained.

He recalled that strikes on moscow have already occurred.

“Well, didn’t something hit a building on Mosfilmovskaya Street? That’s essentially the city center. That means they can reach it. And for it to reach — it has to somehow get through air defense, either bypass it or ‘blind’ it. Here we need to look at how exactly this strike was carried out”, - the expert added.

Commenting on statements about a possible “ceasefire” on May 9, Lakiichuk emphasized that Ukraine had not received any official requests.

“And what does it mean that ‘putin asked Ukraine for a ceasefire through Trump’? Putin never asks Ukraine for anything. Trump doesn’t ask Ukraine for anything either”, - he stressed.

According to him, signals from russia and the United States contradict each other.

“Then Ushakov comes out and says: ‘putin congratulated Trump and proposed a ceasefire. The American side supported it’. And then Peskov states: ‘If we declare a ceasefire — we don’t care about the other side. We declare it ourselves’”, - the expert noted.

He added that if necessary, the kremlin will act independently.

“If putin needs a ceasefire — he will declare it himself, without consulting Ukrainians”, - Lakiichuk said.

Also, according to him, the Ukrainian side tried to clarify the situation diplomatically.

“The Ukrainian side stated that after these unclear statements, it contacted the American side through diplomatic channels with a request to explain what it was. There was no response. That’s it”, - the expert concluded.

It was reported that mobile operators in russia began warning moscow residents about restrictions on mobile internet and SMS on May 9. Also, members of the russian State Duma are already threatening Zelensky with “retaliatory strikes” in case of drone attacks on the Victory Parade.