KYIV — Airports shut down across Moscow while drones slammed into a building in Kyiv, killing two people on Wednesday, as Russia and Ukraine kept up airstrikes despite a U.S.-sponsored peace process.
Speaking at a Munich Security Conference meeting in Washington on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration thinks the Russians are asking for “too much” in peace talks and that the Kremlin was not interested in a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire. But Vance insisted that the United States can still bring the war to an end.
The U.S. envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, meanwhile, said late Tuesday that Ukraine has agreed on a deal that would create a demilitarized zone between the two nations — leaving Russia in control of most of the territory it currently occupies — as part of a 30-day ceasefire. But he acknowledged that Russia has not yet accepted the proposal.
“Right now, probably, our impediment in progress is the president of Russia not agreeing to it,” he told Fox News.
Russia has proposed a three-day ceasefire starting Thursday to coincide with its celebration marking the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi forces in World War II. The commemoration will feature a parade attended by more than two dozen foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Ukraine has dismissed the offer, however, and for the past three days has sent drones streaking toward Moscow, causing little damage but disrupting airport operations. The attacks triggered hours of chaos late Tuesday and Wednesday, with temporary airport closures in Moscow and its surrounding regions.
An official in Ukraine’s security service told The Washington Post that Wednesday’s drone attacks resulted in the destruction of two Russian weapons factories: the Basalt plant in Krasnoarmiysk, in the Moscow region, and the Splav plant, in Tula city in the same-named region south of Moscow. The claims could not be immediately verified, and Russia has not commented on the attacks.
Russia’s Defense Ministry did describe the past 24 hours as the largest air attack on the entire country since the beginning of the war, with a total of 13 missiles and 524 drones fired at several Russian regions.
Thousands of passengers were stranded after their flights were delayed or canceled. Authorities grounded planes at Moscow’s Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports, as well as in the cities of St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov. Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot and other airlines told passengers to expect long disruptions.
The drone incursions have also prompted authorities to shut down mobile data in more than 30 Russian cities.
“Our military is taking all measures to ensure that celebrations of the Great Victory take place in a calm, stable and peaceful atmosphere,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about attempts to disrupt anniversary events. “The Kyiv regime continues to demonstrate its essence, its propensity for terrorist acts.”
Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political analyst, also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of trying to disrupt the parade.
“The Russian authorities have probably brought additional air defense systems into Moscow, are turning off mobile internet, and are closing cafes in the city center during the hours of the parade — they are doing everything possible and necessary,” he said in a Telegram post.
A senior representative of Ukraine’s defense forces previously told The Post that an attack on the parade was unlikely due to the low chance of success and the attendance of world leaders. The leaders of Venezuela and Cuba are reported to have already arrived in Moscow, with Xi expected late Wednesday.
Attacks were reported around Ukraine and particularly in Kyiv, with at least one ballistic missile reported and the night punctuated by the sounds of antiaircraft fire and exploding drones. In addition to the two people killed in the building hit by a drone strike, eight people were injured, including four children, according to city authorities. Firefighters battled several blazes that were ignited by the attacks across the city.
According to Kellogg, Ukraine will accept a ceasefire along the current contact line and the creation of a 30-kilometer (19-mile) demilitarized zone controlled equally by both sides.
Ukrainian officials have not confirmed Kellogg’s account and did not respond to requests for comment, but his remarks would indicate a shift in Kyiv’s position. If implemented, it would amount to de facto Ukrainian acceptance of Russia’s control of the occupied areas for an indefinite period.
Kellogg described the line of contact as a jumping-off point for talks, but the head of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, cautioned that a demilitarized zone would indicate that the line of contact is unlikely to move for a long time.
“As soon as you are starting to reinforce the line of contact, it’s an indication that you believe it will take longer to change the situation on the ground,” Merezhko said.
Either way, Russia shows no sign of genuinely wanting peace talks, though this could change in a year when the war takes its full toll on its economy and ability to mobilize, he added.
Ilyushina reported from Berlin and Ebel from Moscow. Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia, contributed to this report.
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