Ukrainian soldiers advanced one kilometer in the direction of Bakhmut, the city in eastern Ukraine where battles have been raging with Russian forces and especially with the private Wagner militia since summer 2022. This was reported by the commander of the Ukrainian ground unit Mykola Volokhov, quoted by Unian. "We are working, we have a result: a kilometer, a whole kilometer of Ukrainian land has been cleaned and liberated by Wagner mercenaries, liberated from invaders. Let's keep fighting. I think that's not all for today. The victory will be ours. Glory to Ukraine," Volokhov said
.
Vadim Boychenko, the exiled mayor of Mariupol — a Ukrainian city occupied at the beginning of the war — said Russian authorities had begun recruiting local residents. "The occupiers are already looking for citizens who do not fulfill 'military obligations'. The enemy
plans to enlist men until August," he says. The city council also published the so-called "directive for a medical examination of the military registration and enlistment office", which was received by one of the residents of Mariupol.
Russia canceled this year for security reasons the march of the Immortal Regiment, which is traditionally held on Red Square on May 9 after the military parade for the anniversary of the victory over the Nazis. "When dealing with a state that actually sponsors terrorism, it is better to take precautions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Ukraine. This was reported by RIA Novosti.
During the march of the Immortal Regiment the descendants of those who fought against the Third Reich parade carrying photographs of their relatives. President Vladimir Putin also took part last year, showing a photograph of his father.
On the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the defeat of the Third Reich, Putin also sent a special message to the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the two separatist republics on Georgian territory Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "Today it is our moral duty to preserve the sacred traditions of friendship and mutual
assistance handed down by our fathers and grandfathers, not to allow the historical truth about the Great Patriotic War to be distorted and not to allow the justifications of the Nazis, their accomplices and their current ideological heirs."
The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry is even harsher, according to which Maria Zakharova Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a "traitor" and the "new incarnation of Judah in the 21st century", for having anticipated the celebrations for the defeat of Nazism to May 8,
thus differentiating herself from Moscow that celebrates this day on May 9. Zelensky, Zakharova writes on Telegram, is "a fascist collaborator 80 years later" who "betrayed his fathers: those who fought in the ranks of the Red Army, who suffered and were tortured in concentration camps, who worked for victory in the rear."
President Zelensky also recalled the anniversary of the victory over the Third Reich, saying that Russia will be defeated "in the same way" as Nazism was in 1945. "All the evil that modern Russia brings with it will be defeated in the same way that Nazism was defeated," Zelensky said on social media, reiterating his promise to "liberate" all Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow's forces.
"Many years ago, the tradition of celebrating Europe Day was established on our continent to mark the achievements of peace and unity. Today, unity on our continent brings us closer to the celebration of the first day of our peace. Every year starting tomorrow, May 9, we will commemorate our historic unity – the unity of all Europeans who destroyed Nazism and will defeat Rashism (Russian fascism)," he wrote on Telegram.
"Unfortunately, evil has returned. As 80 years ago evil fell on our cities and villages, so it is doing now. Although they are now a different aggressor, the Rashists have the same goal as the Nazis: slavery or destruction. And just like in World War II, we are not alone against evil. We fight against him, relying on the joint strength of the peoples of the free world," Zelensky said in the message, posting the photo of the European flag with the Ukrainian one.
May 9 "will be Europe Day, which has supported Ukrainians for nine years of Russian aggression and 439 days of full-scale invasion. This will be Europe Day, helping us fight in all directions. This will be Europe Day, our ally. This will be Europe Day – ours, of which Ukraine has always been, is and will be a part."
In Russia's Belgorod region, local authorities report "massive shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces. The city of Shebekino was attacked, there are four wounded," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. "Today,
Shebekino was hit by massive shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces. At the first attack there was no damage, at the second there was an explosion near three apartment buildings: there are 4 injured," Gladkov said. The city of Shebekino is located four kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
The Ukrainian bombing follows a night of massive Russian raids, focused on Kiev and Odessa but reaching many regions of the country. According to the Defense Ministry in the last 24 hours, Russian forces have bombed 10 regions, hitting 127 settlements and 139 infrastructures. At least 3 people are killed and 28 others injured. In the Kiev region the raids lasted about 4 hours: "The air defense has official and no shots have been scored," the bulletin says. Around and in the Ukrainian capital there are brush fires, immediately extinguished, caused by the debris of downed drones, and the damage to several cars, without victims.
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko explained that Russia launched 60 Iranian-made kamikaze drones against Ukrainian targets, including 36 in the capital, last night and all were shot down. However, the debris hit apartments and other buildings, injuring at least five people.
Last night's attack was the most massive Russian attack on Kiev since the invasion began, Klitschko told the media while he was at the site of the fall of the wreckage of one of the drones shot down over the capital. "Thanks to our air defense forces, all 36 drones have been shot down. This is the most massive attack on our city since the beginning of the war," he said, quoted by Unian, noting that no one died while 5 people were injured. "No one is in danger of death," he explained, also reporting damage to residential buildings, as well as a kindergarten and a school.
As a result of Russian bombing in the Odessa region, a warehouse with Red Cross humanitarian aid was destroyed. The provision of assistance has been suspended. This was announced by the press office of the Red Cross, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda. "The warehouse with an area of one thousand square meters was completely destroyed. The fire completely destroyed humanitarian aid for the Odessa region, which was in the warehouse," says the Red Cross, representatives of which were not present at the time of the missile attack.
President Zelensky also recalled the anniversary of the victory over the Third Reich, saying that Russia will be defeated "in the same way" as Nazism was in 1945. "All the evil that modern Russia brings with it will be defeated in the same way that Nazism was defeated," Zelensky said on social media, reiterating his promise to "liberate" all Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow's forces.
ANSA Agency
Putin on victory anniversary: 'Fight against Nazi heirs' - Politics
Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrates victory over Nazism in a message to the leaders of former Soviet republics stressing the need to oppose the 'current ideological heirs' of Nazism (ANSA)
ANSA Agency
Moscow, 'Ukrainian attack on our radar planes' foiled
Four days after the explosion of two drones intercepted over the Kremlin, Moscow's security services claimed to have foiled a new sensational Ukrainian attack in the heart of Russia.
For his part, Air Force Colonel Yuri Ignat, quoted by Ukrainska Pravda, announced that Russia launched up to 8 X-22 cruise missiles in the Odessa region, some of which did not reach the target. "As for the Odessa region, there were 7 aircraft and up to 8 launches of Kh-22 cruise missiles, some of them flew to the Odessa region, some objects were hit, the rest of the missiles did not reach their targets (perhaps by self-destruction, perhaps they fall only because of their aging, because these are obsolete Soviet missiles)."