Russian air defence forces downed 12 Ukrainian drones flying towards Moscow, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on Wednesday. Sobyanin, in a series of posts over four hours on the Telegram messaging app,

The Kremlin claimed it shot down a record 524 drones on Wednesday as world leaders travel to Moscow for Russia's vaunted WWII Victory Day parade.

The fighting comes a day ahead of a planned parade in the Russian capital to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two - with President Vladimir Putin proposing a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the event. Ukraine has not agreed to the proposal and has pushed for a truce lasting at least 30 days.