Russia has shelled Kyiv with cruise missiles, while a modest “Victory Day” parade took place in Moscow in the shadow of the great loss of human resources, writes Reuters.
In a sharp, ten-minute-long speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the “Western elite” and talked about humanity being at an important turning point. Putin, who launched a bloody invasion of the neighboring country last year, declared that the West wages war on Russia. Meanwhile, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, while visiting Kyiv on the 9th of May, emphasized that the war has isolated Russia from Europe, but has brought Ukraine closer to the West. She called Ukraine “the beating heart of today’s European values”.
For the Putin regime, the so-called Victory Day is the most important event of the year, and the Russian president also justifies the attack on Ukraine with a self-imagined fight against the Nazis. Although the parade in Red Square was pompous, it was also clearly noticeable that it was considerably more modest than before.
Instead of modern tanks, a single World War II vintage T-34 tank crossed the field.
The traditional flight of fighter jets over Red Square was also canceled.
Putin’s speech was also sabotaged by another profanity-laden statement from the owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who accused Moscow’s generals of intentionally withholding ammunition. Prigozhin stated in an audio message that in the event of a lack of ammunition, “we will leave the positions, and we will ask the question of who really betrayed the Fatherland.”
Zelensky has informed that Moscow, despite Putin’s order to take over the city by the 9th of May celebrations, has not succeeded in capturing Bakhmut.
Ukrainian air defense forces shot down 23 out of 25 cruise missiles launched by Russia,
which were fired at Kyiv on the night of the 10th of May. There are no victims.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that it has struck Ukrainian barracks and ammunition depots with high-precision long-range weapons. After a break of several weeks, Russia resumed missile strikes on Ukrainian settlements at the end of April, and the attacks have intensified in recent days.
The media agency Agence France Presse reported that its video operator was killed in a missile strike near Bakhmut.
Read also: Russia installs large “propaganda screen” aimed at Narva promenade