Russia is not planning celebrations in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on May 9, marking the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, the Kremlin said on Friday (May 6).
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Ukrainian intelligence had assured Wednesday that Moscow was preparing a military parade in this strategic city where the last Ukrainian fighters are entrenched, after weeks of terrible fighting, in a vast industrial zone.
“
This year, of course, it's impossible for obvious reasons.
But the time will come when a great celebration will take place there
,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Read alsoWhat is Russia planning on May 9 to celebrate “Victory Day”?
“
There will definitely be Russians, many Russians on May 9 (in Mariupol).
But as far as an official delegation (being able to travel to this city), I am not aware
,” he added.
Mariupol, a major port city in southeastern Ukraine, is almost completely under the control of Russian forces, who now face the last Ukrainian defenders entrenched in a vast steelworks, Azovstal.
After several weeks of a deadly siege, the city is largely devastated, with many buildings damaged or destroyed.
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May 9 is a very important date for Russia, which organizes military parades every year, including a large parade in Red Square in Moscow, to celebrate victory in the "
Great Patriotic War
" against Nazi Germany.
The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed to be fighting "
neo
-Nazis " in Ukraine - whose President Volodymyr Zelensky is nevertheless Jewish -, multiplying the historical parallels between this military intervention and the Second World War.
