Putin laid flowers commemorating veterans in 2 Ukrainian cities as his forces bombed them

• Vladimir Putin laid flowers on memorials for veterans in two Ukrainian cities as his forces bombed those cities.
• Air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv and Odesa was struck by missiles at the time of the Victory Day Parade in Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin laid flowers on memorials commemorating Ukrainian veterans in two cities as Russian forces bombed those cities, the BBC reported.

As a part of the Victory Day parade in Moscow Monday, Putin placed flowers on memorials for Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv and Odesa.

Meanwhile, Russian forces were bombing the cities at the same time. The BBC reported Odesa was struck by at least four missiles that were fired from Crimea.

Russian forces continued to shell towns in the northern Donbas region as well, the BBC reported, and there was an air alarm in Kyiv at the time Putin was laying the flowers, Larysa Denysenko, a Ukrainian lawyer wrote on Facebook.

Denysenko described the move as "rotten" in her Facebook post with other critics echoing her sentiments.

One woman said "firstly he bombs these cities with missiles, then puts flowers."

Another said the red flowers were an "appropriate color for the amount of blood he's spilled."

"He bombs Kyiv and Odesa and then goes to put flowers on those cities," Ukrainian tennis player Alex Dolgopolov said on Twitter.

One woman said Putin had a "high level of cynicism" for laying flowers at the memorial of cities he is currently bombing.