Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin Marks Victory Day
The Russian military has targeted a steel plant where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters are doing what appears to be their last stand to save Mariupol.
Russian forces stepped up their efforts to capture the southern Ukraine port city of Mariupol as Moscow held celebrations marking the National Victory Day.
Soldiers targeted a steel factory where an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were working as their last stand to save Mariupol from crashing.
This is the only part of the city that has not been taken over by the invaders.
The Mariupol defeat means Russia could establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that worse attacks could be linked to Victory Day – the day marking Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Ukrainian fighters in the steel mill have rejected the deadline set by the Russians to lay down their weapons even as the attacks of fighters, artillery and tanks continued.
The last residents who took shelter with fighter jets at the factory were evacuated on Saturday.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, more than 60 people have been killed after a Russian bomb hit a school used as a shelter in the eastern village of Bilohorivka, Ukrainian officials said.
Authorities said about 90 people were sheltering in the school’s basement when it was attacked Saturday.
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Here are the latest updates on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Latest updates: Monday, May 9, 2022, 08:31
Putin: Russia’s military action in Ukraine is a ‘necessary response to Western policies’
Vladimir Putin affirmed that Russia’s military action in Ukraine is a timely and necessary response to Western policies.
The Russian President is speaking at the Victory Day parade in Moscow, commemorating the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
The First Lady of the United States on a surprise trip to Ukraine
US First Lady Jill Biden met with her Ukrainian counterpart during a surprise visit to western Ukraine.
She later wrote on Twitter: “This Mother’s Day, I want to be with Ukrainian mothers and their children. Over the past few months, too many Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes – forcing them to leave their loved ones behind.
“As a mother, I can only imagine the grief and anxiety they must feel every day from Russia’s gratuitous attack. I have seen firsthand how the people of Slovakia and Romania have opened their homes, schools, hospitals and hearts.
“Together, we are united for Ukraine.
“I hope that while I’m here, I can inspire the world with their strength and resilience, and remind them that they’re not alone.”
Russian Victory Day Explanation
Victory Day is Russia’s central national holiday and is of constant importance to ordinary Russians, many of whom carry portraits of their loved ones who fought in the war.
While the annual event has always been a mix of pride and patriotism for the Kremlin, this year there were also concerns about what President Vladimir Putin might say, out of a desire to make progress. military during his brutal invasion of Ukraine.
From the outset of the conflict, Victory Day on May 9 was central to Russia, even as Moscow understood well that a quick victory was unlikely against Ukraine’s stiff defenses.
Fierce battle at the Mariupol . steel plant
Ukraine’s military says it has recaptured areas to the south and repelled Russian attacks in the east as fighting rages at a steel mill in Mariupol – where Ukrainian troops have been hiding in the mountains. tunnels and bunkers to fend off the onslaught of Russia.
Ukrainian fighters held out at the vast Azovstal steel plant – the last stronghold in the city controlled by Moscow’s forces.
“With the support of aircraft, the enemy continued the attack to gain control of the plant,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian army said on Thursday.
Video posted on social media on Wednesday night shows Russian air strikes on the steel plant.
Ursula von der Leyen: ‘We will make sure we get rid of Russian oil in an orderly way’
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ending the EU’s dependence on Russian oil “will not be easy but we simply have to do it”.
This would be an outright import ban on all Russian oil, sea and pipeline, crude and refined oil.
We will ensure that we remove Russian oil in an orderly manner, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimize the impact on the global market.
Mariupol evacuees ‘talk about the hell they’ve been through’
Osnat Lubrani, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said evacuees from the besieged city of Mariupol spoke of the “hell” they had experienced in the city.
Over the past few days, accompanying the displaced people, I have heard mothers, children and elderly grandparents talk about the sufferings of day-to-day life under the relentless barrage of shelling and fear. fear of death, along with shortages of water, food, and sanitation.
They talk about the hell they’ve been through since this war started, seek refuge in the Azovstal factory, many of them separated from family members whose fate they still don’t know.
PM: threatening or attacking British diplomats in Ukraine is ‘absolutely not understandable’
Boris Johnson has said that any threats or attacks against British diplomats in Ukraine are “absolutely not understandable”.
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain program about the UK’s ambassador, the Prime Minister said: “I am proud of our diplomats in Ukraine and Melinda Simmons, who will return to open the embassy and she He has done an amazing job.”
Mr Johnson added that threats to British diplomats were “absolutely not a trivial thing” and “there is no justification for it”.
He said the UK was “leading the world in helping Ukrainians defend themselves against barbaric, barbaric aggression” and later added that the UK had also “coordinated the world”. in coming up with a very tough economic sanctions package.”
“We are not saying that we do this to promote some geopolitical change or lead to some outcome in Moscow,” he said.
“What we care about is the Ukrainian people and their suffering. It is completely unjustifiable for a free country like Ukraine to be overwhelmed and wiped out as it has been.”
PM: ‘This is Ukraine’s finest hour, an epic chapter in your national story’
Boris Johnson will address the Kyiv parliament today, where he is expected to say:
“As my country faced the threat of invasion during the Second World War, our Parliament, like yours, continued to meet throughout the conflict, and the British people were able to show such solidarity and determination that we remember that the moment of greatest danger is our best hour.
“This is Ukraine’s greatest hour, an epic chapter in your national story that will be remembered and told for generations to come.
“Your descendants will say that the Ukrainians have taught the world that the brute force of an aggressor is worth nothing against the moral force of a people determined to be free.”
Russian football teams continue to be banned from participating in UEFA competitions
Russian football clubs and the national team have suffered more sanctions from football body UEFA.
The country will be banned from competing in the women’s Euro 2022 tournament this summer as the invasion of Ukraine continues.
Teams at club level will also continue to be banned from UEFA competitions next season, after they were excluded from this year’s ongoing competitions “until further notice”.
UEFA has also confirmed that Russian bids to host the Euro 2028 or 2032 men’s tournaments are currently ineligible.
Lavrov’s comments on Israel’s Hitler are said to be ‘unforgivable’
Israel has attacked Russia over its foreign minister’s “unforgivable” comments about Nazism and anti-Semitism – including claims that Adolf Hitler was Jewish.
Israel, which summoned the Russian ambassador in response, said the remarks blamed the Jews for their own murder during the Holocaust.
It marks a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries at a time when Israel seeks to remain neutral between Russia and Ukraine due to its security needs in the Middle East.
What did Sergei Lavrov say?
When asked in an interview with an Italian news channel about Russia’s claim that it invaded Ukraine to “denuclearize” the country, Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine could still have Nazi elements right away. even if some figures, including the country’s president, are Jewish.
“So when they said ‘How can Nazi Germany survive if we are Jews?’ In my opinion, Hitler is also of Jewish origin, so it doesn’t make absolute sense. For a while, we’ve heard the Jews say that the biggest opposers are the Jews,” he said, speaking to the station in Russian, voiced by an Italian translation.
Israel’s response
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called Mr Lavrov’s statement “unforgivable, scandalous and a terrible historical mistake”.
“The Jews did not commit suicide during the Holocaust,” Mr. Lapid said. “The lowest level of racism against Jews is to blame the Jews themselves for anti-Semitism.”
https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/ukraine-war-russia-mariupol-moscow-victory-day-3583546 Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin Marks Victory Day
