Moscow shuts off mobile internet ahead of Victory Day parade

Russia on Tuesday cut mobile internet connection in the capital ahead of World War II victory commemorations, set to be staged under fear of a retaliatory Ukrainian drone attack.

AFP journalists reported no mobile internet in the centre of the Russian capital on Tuesday morning, as network providers warned disruptions were set to last until May 9, when Russia stages a grand military parade on Red Square.

"During the preparations for and the running of the festive events from May 5 to 9, there may be temporary restrictions on mobile internet and text messaging in Moscow and the Moscow region," mobile operator MTS said in a message to its subscribers.

Internet blackouts have become a frequent part of life in border regions in recent months.

Russian servicemen await the rehearsal of the Victory Day military parade, to be held at Red Square, in central Moscow on Monday. AFP

Russia says the intermittent shutdowns are necessary to thwart Ukrainian drones, which connect via local networks.

In Moscow on Tuesday, some shops were unable to process card payments amid the outages, an AFP reporter said.

Automatic cash machines, taxi services and online maps were also affected by the outages.

Kyiv has intensified its retaliatory long-range drone strikes in recent weeks, hitting Russian oil facilities and a luxury high-rise building in Moscow.

Ukraine calls them a fair response to the nightly barrages of hundreds of drones that Russia fires on its cities.

Russia declared on May 4 a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine between May 8-9, when Moscow marks its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations, and threatened a "massive missile strike" on Kyiv if Ukraine violated it. AFP

The Kremlin has said it will scale down its grand parade marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, excluding cadets and military hardware from the annual show of force on May 9.

Last year, Ukraine sought to disrupt the event by launching swarms of explosive-laden drones at Moscow, causing travel chaos, with thousands of flights cancelled or delayed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin regularly invokes the memory of World War II -- a central narrative of his quarter-century rule -- to justify his offensive against Ukraine.

Agence France-Presse