Putin lashes out on Victory Day

Dozens of Russian cruise missiles exploded over kyiv, while in Moscow a large military parade with weapons display crossed Red Square. Vladimir Putin lashed out at kyiv and the West on Victory Day, this May 9.

The massive onslaught of the Russian war became apparent again, as the Kremlin recalls the triumph of the then Soviet Union over Nazi Germany, In the Second World War.

The Ukrainian Army said its air defenses shot down 23 of the 25 shells fired by the invading troops on Tuesday, mainly against the capital.

It was the second night in a row hit by a spate of Russian shelling and the fifth so far this month.

Eight Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from aircraft carriers in the Black Sea to the east of the invaded country and 17 from strategic aircraft, the Ukrainian Air Force said. However, no casualties were reported after the attacks.

After marking the historic date with fire against its former ally in the former Soviet Union, the Kremlin deployed around 8,000 soldiers in the capital who marched and exhibited their military might.

Cheers rang out in Red Square, with a gun salute and the Russian national anthem, albeit with a much reduced show of military equipment and no flyby of fighter jets. This time, the military stop lasted less than an hour.

But the Russian commemoration lives without victories on the Ukrainian battlefield, where the mercenaries of Wagner they have not been able to fulfill their promise to completely take the bastion of Bakhmutin it Donbass, despite the assaults of the last days.

All while the founder of the private paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, maintains an open tension with the high command of the Russian Army. This Tuesday, Prigozhin reiterated in the last hours his threat to withdraw his men from the disputed city if Wagner does not receive from Moscow the ammunition he needs to continue his offensive.

“Yesterday a combat order came that clearly states that if we abandon our positions (in Bakhmut), it will be considered a betrayal of the homeland (…) But if there is no ammunition, then we will leave our positions and we will be the ones to ask who is really betraying the Motherland”, he reproached in his last tirade, which coincides with the commemorations in Russia.

“The whole country is praying for you”: Putin to his soldiers after defending the invasion

In iconic Red Square, President Putin delivered a speech assuring Russians that their country is united in a “sacred” fight against the West over Ukraine that he said would end in victory.

The Kremlin leader took advantage of his speech in the framework of the historic date to lash out at the United States and its allies, whom he accused of forgetting the Soviet victory over the Nazis in World War II.

The “untamed ambitions, arrogance and impunity” of the West are driving “a real war” against Russia,” he said.

Putin has repeatedly compared his occupationist ambitions on Ukrainian soil to the challenge Moscow faced when Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.

In his speech, the Russian president asserted that “Western globalist elites” were sowing Russophobia, while the Ukrainian people had become “hostage to a coup” and Western ambitions.

“Today civilization is once again at a decisive turning point (…) A real war has been unleashed against our homeland,” said the man who ordered the war against his neighboring country more than 14 months ago, in which they have Thousands of civilians have died and it has been the scene of multiple human rights violations, including executions, torture and rape.

But Putin insisted on framing the ongoing conflict – which he refers to as a “special military operation” to “denazify” Ukraine – as a proxy war with the West. In his narrative, the Kremlin signals Europe and the United States to use Kiev to “destroy” Russia, rewrite its history and crush its traditional values. A version that dominates the coverage of the Russian press after Moscow banned both national and foreign independent media.

Ukraine celebrates Europe Day, amid von der Leyen’s visit

The country that was once an ally of Russia distances itself once again from Moscow, in the midst of the invasion that has marked the biggest collapse of the European order since the Cold War.

After Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski moved the commemoration of the end of World War II to May 8, and declared May 9 as Europe Day, this Tuesday his country joined the traditional commemoration in the European Union, date on which the bloc annually celebrates peace and unity on the continent.

To mark the moment, the president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, arrived in kyiv, where she met with Zelensky.

“My presence in Kiev is symbolic, but it is also the sign of a crucial and very practical reality: the EU is working hand in hand with Ukraine on many issues (…) I very much appreciate President Zelensky’s decision to celebrate May 9 on Europe Day. Ukraine is part of our European family,” Von der Leyen stressed.

“We continue to do everything in our power to erode Putin’s war machine and his income,” added the Brussels representative during her speech with the Ukrainian leader.

The surrender of Nazi Germany came into effect at 11:01 p.m. on May 8, 1945, which is why the date has been marked as “Victory in Europe Day” by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In Moscow, it was already May 9, and that moment became the “Victory Day” of the Soviet Union in what the Russians call the Great Patriotic War from 1941 to 1945. 78 years later, Russia and the West are still marking strong differences.

With Reuters, AP and local media