Russian leader falsely accuses the West of leaving him no choice but to invade Ukraine, pledges help for families of soldiers killed in war
It’s 3 p.m. in Kyiv. Here’s what you need to know about Russia’s Victory Day and fighting in Ukraine.
During a speech commemorating Russia’s defeat of Nazi Germany at the end of World War Two, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his baseless accusation that the West left him no choice but to invade Ukraine. Planned Victory Day air shows across Russia were canceled, raising questions as to why.
The speech provided little detail on how Russia planned to proceed in Ukraine. It followed days of speculation that the Russian leader would use the event to formally declare war on Ukraine, or order a mass mobilization of Russian forces to prosecute a war that has now stretched into its third month, with heavy Russian losses.
Here are some of the latest developments:
- Russia’s muted Victory Day parade: Defense analysts noted a low-key parade, which saw thousands of troops assemble outside the Kremlin in the Red Square and the expected air portion of the annual event canceled due to weather. Putin said among the reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was that the NATO alliance was surrounding Russia. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace hit back at his claims, saying NATO only accounts for 6% of Russia’s land border. “That’s not being surrounded if only 6% of your land border is NATO countries,” Wallace said. “I think he is believing what he wants to believe – a slight shine of desperation,” Wallace added of Putin.
- Modest celebrations in occupied areas: There were small pro-Russian celebrations in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including Kherson, according to Russian state media. The head of the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic laid wreaths and in the southeastern city of Mariupol, flowers were laid at a memorial recently refurbished by Russian-backed separatists, according to Ukrainian officials.
- Russian ambassador to Poland doused with red paint: Sergei Andreev was covered in red paint while trying to lay a wreath at the cemetery of Soviet soldiers in Warsaw, according to Russian state media. Andreev later said that he was not injured.
- Russian pontoon bridge could threaten Ukraine’s supply routes: Ukrainian officials raised the alarm about a Russian pontoon bridge across the Siversky Donets river, which was erected a few days ago and could enable Russian forces to threaten Ukrainian defenses and supply routes in the Luhansk region. “If they consolidate, they will be able to develop an offensive and get closer to the road, cutting off (the) Luhansk region. This will mean the loss of the single path to security, and connection with other regions,” Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said Monday.
- Russia bombards Odesa region: Four Onyx cruise missiles were fired by Russian forces at the Odesa region in southern Ukraine, a Ukrainian regional official said, as the Black Sea coast sees a significant uptick in missile attacks by Russia.
- Ukrainian counterattack in Kharkiv unfolds: The Ukrainian military says that Russia is holding back some of its forces within its borders to prevent a Ukrainian counterattack that has made some headway east of Kharkiv. Inside Ukraine, the general staff says the most intense activity is in Donetsk region, where Russian forces are trying to advance towards the town of Lyman, a major transport hub.
- Rebuild Ukraine with Russian foreign exchange reserves, says top diplomat: The European Union should consider using billions of dollars’ worth of Russian foreign exchange reserves to rebuild Ukraine after the war, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday.
- Dozens feared dead after bomb hits school sheltering Ukrainians: Ukraine has accused Russia of dropping a bomb on a school in the Luhansk region. Ninety people were said to be sheltering in the school; 60 are feared dead.
Russian Ambassador to Poland doused with red paint at Warsaw cemetery
From CNN’s Katharina Krebs in London
Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev was doused with red paint while trying to lay a wreath at the cemetery of Soviet soldiers in Warsaw, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
According to RIA Novosti, Poles and Ukrainians blocked the diplomat’s path. Andreev was accompanied by police out of the cemetery. He later said that he was not injured.
“We still need to figure it out. Maybe just a scratch, but neither I nor the team were seriously injured,” Andreev said, as cited by RIA Novosti.
Referencing the incident, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged via Telegram that “fans of neo-Nazism have once again showed their face – and it is bloody.”
“The demolition of monuments to the heroes of the Second World War, the desecration of graves, and now the disruption of the flower-laying ceremony on a holy day, celebrated by every decent person, proves the obvious – the West has set a course for the reincarnation of fascism,” she said.
The Russian Embassy in Poland said it would protest against the attack on the ambassador.
“We will make a formal protest, although I believe that the authorities were notified of our plans. When they did not recommend us to hold a wider event we met them halfway and did not aggravate. All that was left is to ensure elementary order, it would seem,” said Andreev, as cited by RIA Novosti.
See the moment the Russian Ambassador to Poland was doused with red paint here:
Ukrainian officials alarmed by Russians crossing major river in the east
From CNN’s Tim Lister and Gianluca Mezzofiore
Ukrainian officials have raised the alarm about a Russian pontoon bridge that was erected a few days ago and may now enable Russian forces to threaten Ukrainian defenses and supply routes in the Luhansk region.
Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said Monday that the Russians were trying to take away “the road of life,” which connects the front lines in the east around Severodonetsk with the town of Bakhmut, an important rear base.
“The Russians transported equipment to the other shore via a pontoon across the Siversky Donets river,” Hayday said.
“If they consolidate, they will be able to develop an offensive and get closer to the road, cutting off Luhansk region.
“This will mean the loss of the single path to security, and connection with other regions.”
CNN has confirmed satellite imagery showing a pontoon bridge across the Siversky Donets on Sunday. There had been no such bridge on May 3.
The location of the bridge is less than two miles from the village of Bilohorivka, which was bombed by Russian aircraft on Saturday.
The school in the village, where 90 people were taking shelter, was hit and about sixty people are thought to have been killed.
Rescue efforts have since been hampered by continued shelling.
It now appears that the bombardment was to prepare for an attempted ground advance by Russian forces.
It’s unknown how far Russian forces have progressed if they have crossed the river.
Russia’s Victory Day air shows canceled across the country, raising eyebrows
From CNN’s Brad Lendon and Sarah Dean
Planned Victory Day air shows were canceled in locations across Russia, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, Russian state news agency TASS reported Monday.
The decision raised eyebrows among foreign military analysts watching Moscow’s Victory Day parade on Monday. The parade had been expected to feature 77 aircraft flying over the capital’s Red Square, including eight MiG-29 fighters flying in a “Z” formation to show support for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s air show was canceled due to weather conditions, according to state news agency RIA Novosti. Aviation shows were also canceled in Samara, Kaliningrad, and Murmansk, TASS wrote.
Sounds unbelievable. It seemed sunny on what I saw. The only excuse would be strong crosswinds at the air bases the aircraft were coming from,” Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia and former Australian air force officer, told CNN.
During the parade in Moscow, winds were sustained at around 15 mph, with gusts reported at around 30 mph at 11 a.m. local time. The cloud cover was also increasing throughout the morning with mostly cloudy skies during the parade, according to CNN Meteorologist Monica Garrett.
Light rain was reported after 12:30 p.m. local.
The only air parade scheduled in Russia’s south, which was due to be held in the city of Rostov-on-Don, did not take place, TASS said, citing the press service of the Southern Military District.
Jill Biden met with Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova, says the White House
From CNN’s Kate Bennett
United States first lady Jill Biden met with the President of Slovakia Zuzana Caputova at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava on Monday.
The two discussed the US’s continued support of Ukraine, with Biden expressing gratitude for the way Slovakia has welcomed refugees, according to a White House official.
Upon arrival at the Great Hall palace reception room, Biden first signed a guest book with this message:
During my time in this beautiful country, I have seen firsthand the shared values that united Slovakia and the United States as friends, partners, and allies. This includes our common devotion to helping those most in need. We stand with Slovakia as it stands with the people of Ukraine.”
Biden, who made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Mother’s Day, told the media she had spoken to US President Joe Biden afterward.
“I said just how much I saw the need to support the people of Ukraine and … the horrors and the brutality that the people I had met had experienced,” said Biden of their conversation.
Following her departure from the palace, Biden traveled to the airport for the flight back to Washington, ending her four-day European trip.
Analysis: On a Victory Day without new victories, Putin’s speech keeps the world guessing
From CNN’s Angela Dewan
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered very few clues on the direction of the Ukraine conflict in his speech at Russia’s Victory Day commemorations on Monday.
Global leaders and defense officials had spent weeks speculating over what he might reveal about his plans, with some suggesting that he may use this historic day to escalate his so-called “special military operation” and declare an outright war.
Instead, the Russian president used his speech to blend history with the present, banking on Russian nationalism on its most patriotic of holidays to justify his war.
The question now is whether Putin will use this day – or this week even – to escalate the war in other ways.
Read more analysis here:
Putin showed “a slight shine of desperation,” says UK defense secretary
From CNN’s Brad Lendon in Seoul
Russian President Vladimir Putin showed “a slight shine of desperation” in his Victory Day speech Monday, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said, according to PA Media.
Among the reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was that the NATO alliance was surrounding Russia and putting bases in its western neighbor, Putin said.
Wallace dismissed Putin’s claims.
NATO accounts for 6% of his land border. That’s not being surrounded if only 6% of your land border is NATO countries,” the UK defense secretary said.
As for NATO bases in Ukraine, “I’m sure the Ukrainian ambassador will tell you there weren’t any NATO bases in Ukraine,” PA quoted Wallace as saying.
I think he is believing what he wants to believe – a slight shine of desperation,” Wallace said of Putin.
Earlier, in a speech at the British National Army Museum, Wallace reiterated London’s strong support for Kyiv in the war.
“The British government – the whole United Kingdon – stands in solidarity with Ukraine, supporting their courageous defense of sovereignty, territorial integrity and simple right to a peaceful and prosperous future,” Wallace said.
Putin is ‘completely out of ideas’ on Ukraine, analyst says
From CNN’s Brad Lendon in Seoul
Vladimir Putin seems like he’s “completely out of ideas” about the war in Ukraine, one prominent analyst said after the Russian President’s Victory Day speech in Moscow on Monday.
Either doesn’t now understand the reality of the situation in Ukraine, or willfully ignoring it,” Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said of Putin in a Twitter post.
Some context: Speculation before the speech was that Putin might formally declare war on Ukraine or order a mass mobilization of Russian forces to prosecute the war that has now stretched into its third month, with heavy Russian losses.
While Putin blamed NATO and the West for forcing him to invade Ukraine to protect Russian interests, he didn’t offer any idea of what would be considered a victory or any ways to prosecute the war further.
Without concrete steps to build a new force, Russia can’t fight a long war, and the clock starts ticking on the failure of their army in Ukraine,” O’Brien said.
Head of Russia-backed Luhansk People’s Republic congratulates residents on Victory Day
From CNN’s Katharina Krebs in London
The head of the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), Leonid Pasechnik, laid wreaths at monuments in honor of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
Wreaths were laid at the Pylon of Glory in tribute to Luhansk Heroes of the Soviet Union and at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“Victory will be ours,” said Pasechnik.
He said that due to the liberation of the regions of the LPR, residents can celebrate Victory Day, wear a St. George ribbon and speak Russian “without fear of persecution and repression.”
“People of different ages, professions and nationalities united to deliver a crushing blow to Nazism — which is now Ukrainian,” Pasechnik said.
The leaders of the self-declared separatist republics in eastern Ukraine have been prominent in marking Victory Day, claiming it symbolizes another victory over Nazism.
Some context: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government have repeatedly said the aim of their so-called “special operation” is to “denazify” Ukraine, and made the baseless claim that freeing the country of Nazis is a matter of Russian survival.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-05-09-22/h_6f5a2d56333c18eda328f2bdb0fd7dc4
