Putin prepares for Victory Day parade today as troops line up in locked-down Moscow just days after Kremlin drone strike

VLADIMIR Putin is set to preside over a parade marking victory in World War II amid tight security after a drone attack on the Kremlin. Thousands of troops will march through Moscow’s Red Square along with Russia’s latest military hardware for the Victory Day event. ReutersA Russian nuclear missile being readied for the parade[/caption] EPATroops marching towards Red Square for the parade[/caption] Footage appears to show the moment a drone blew up over the KremlinEast2West The parade is set to take place amid tight security after the drone attack, widely believed to have been carried out by Ukraine. Footage showed a flying object exploding in flames overnight above the fortress in central Moscow – where the president has his office and an apartment – on Wednesday. Putin, 70, was not inside at the time and was not injured, the Kremlin said. Ahead of the parade,  Russia launched a barrage of drone, missile and air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight  The tyrant, who has become the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, will address troops standing at attention. There have also been suspected sabotage attacks on oil depots and trains as well as assassinations of pro-Kremlin figures. More than two dozen cities and towns near the Ukraine border as well as more distant Russian regions, have cancelled plans to stage their own military parades over security concerns. The parade marks the day when Nazi Germany surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1945. Putin has long used it to rally public support and demonstrate the country’s military prowess and to boost his power by stoking nationalist fervour. He has also used the memory of the Soviet war effort to justify the invasion of Ukraine, claiming it is fighting “fascists” supported by the West. More than two dozen cities and towns – near the Ukraine border, but also in more distant Russian regions – have cancelled plans to stage their own military parades over security concerns. Authorities have scrapped plans to hold so-called “Immortal Regiment” marches in which people carry photos of veterans or family members who died in World War II. Ahead of the parade, Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, issued a series of blistering, profanity-laced videos. Earlier on Monday, Ukraine had commemorated the end of World War II together with Europe. President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Russian forces would be defeated just as Nazi Germany was beaten in 1945. The Ukrainian leader said the Kremlin was responsible for “aggression and annexation, occupation and deportation”, as well as “mass murder and torture”. Extraordinary footage appeared to show the moment a drone exploded over the Senate Palace, with flames and smoke seen coming from the 18th century dome at 2.27am. Grandstands set up for the Victory Day parade on May 9 can be seen in Red Square below, in front of the fortress walls.