Ukraine war: Putin honors military action in Ukraine at parade

In the midst of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia is celebrating its victory over Hitler’s Germany with a parade on Red Square in Moscow today. In his speech, President Vladimir Putin praised the military operation in Ukraine. Before the anniversary, the West hit Russia with new sanctions – and demonstrated solidarity with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, fighting in different parts of Ukraine continues. In the south, the Ukrainian military said it killed 51 Russian soldiers on Sunday and destroyed two rocket launchers and a helicopter. According to the Ukrainian air defense system, five unmanned aerial vehicles and three Russian cruise missiles were shot down. The information cannot be independently verified.

News of the war in Ukraine on Monday, May 9th:

9:23 a.m .: Putin recognizes military action in Ukraine at parade

Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin praised the deployment of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine at the military parade in Moscow. Soldiers were fighting for Russia’s security in Donbass in eastern Ukraine, Putin said in Moscow’s Red Square. Ukraine has armed itself with NATO weapons and thus posed a threat to the country. Russia celebrated the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The holy holiday for Russia was overshadowed by Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The Kremlin does not speak of war, but of a “special military operation”.

With regard to the Ukraine conflict, Putin has warned of the danger of a new world war. Everything must be done to prevent “a repeat of the horrors of global war,” he said. At the same time, he justified the military operation in Ukraine, which serves to defend Russia from an “unacceptable threat”.

This time, no foreign heads of state will be guests at the parade. The inner city, secured by a large contingent of uniformed men, resembled a fortress. On May 8, 1945, the Second World War in Europe came to an end with the surrender of the German Wehrmacht. Russia celebrates its most important holiday on May 9th with the “Day of Victory” over Nazi Germany.

8.23 a.m .: Ukraine criticizes flag ban in Berlin

Ukraine reacted with clear criticism to the flag ban at the World War II commemoration in Berlin on Sunday. “Berlin made a mistake by banning Ukrainian symbols,” said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. It is very wrong to treat them in the same way as Russian symbols. Taking away a Ukrainian flag from peaceful protesters is an attack on anyone who, with that flag in hand, is defending Europe and Germany against Russian aggression.

On the occasion of the commemoration on Sunday and Monday in Berlin, the Berlin police issued conditions for 15 memorial sites, including a ban on Russian and Ukrainian flags to avoid confrontations. Nevertheless, isolated Ukrainian and red flags related to the Soviet Union were shown. According to the police, officials repeatedly intervened. Diplomats and veterans of the World War were exempt from the ban.

7.38 a.m .: Russia’s space chief threatens Musk because of the satellite network for Ukraine

The head of the Russian space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, has threatened tech billionaire Elon Musk with consequences for supplying Ukraine with satellite internet. Musk’s space company SpaceX provided the country under Russian attack with facilities to use its Starlink satellite network. This gives you fast internet from space. This was helpful for Ukrainian authorities and troops when mobile communications and local Internet access failed. Rogozin wrote on the Telegram chat service that Musk was “involved in supplying fascist forces in Ukraine with military communications.” He will have to answer for this “like an adult”. Musk responded on Twitter that night with a joke: “If I should die under mysterious circumstances – it was good to have known you.” Musk is also the boss of the electric car manufacturer Tesla and is currently trying to buy Twitter.

6.58 a.m .: The Ukrainian ambassador would have liked “more concrete” from Scholz’s speech

Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk said he was disappointed with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s televised speech on the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. In the speech, “much more concrete” was desired about how the Bundestag decision to supply heavy weapons should be implemented, Melnyk said on the program “Anne Will”. “When we hear the Chancellor saying that Russia must not win, that means that everything, absolutely everything should be done (…) to help us in this difficult situation, in this war, the worst war since Second World War,” demanded the diplomat.

4.12 a.m .: Selenskyj adviser warns of a new Russian attack on Kyiv

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of a new attack by Russian troops on the capital Kyiv if the West does not speed up arms deliveries to his country. This could give Russia time to mobilize and launch another offensive on Kyiv and other cities in northern Ukraine, argued presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych in a video interview. Russia had withdrawn its troops from the Ukrainian capital after a failed attempt to take Kyiv, and is instead focusing on the east of the country. In view of the high losses, experts believe at least partial mobilization is possible, which the Kremlin has so far rejected.

3:33 a.m.: Fighting continues

Fighting in different parts of Ukraine continues. In the south, the Ukrainian military says it killed 51 Russian soldiers on Sunday and destroyed two rocket launchers and a helicopter. According to the Ukrainian air defense system, five unmanned aerial vehicles and three Russian cruise missiles were shot down. The information cannot be independently verified.

2.03 a.m .: NATO chief Stoltenberg calls on Putin to end the war

On the “Day of Victory” over Hitler’s Germany, NATO called on Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to stop hostilities in Ukraine immediately. “I call on President Putin once again on May 9 to end the war immediately, to withdraw his troops from Ukraine and to start peace negotiations,” Stoltenberg told the daily newspaper “Welt” (Monday). “We stand firmly by Ukraine’s side and will continue to help the country enforce its right to self-defense.” Stoltenberg expects “that on May 9 of this year, Putin will again spread lies about NATO and the West as a whole.” During a military parade in Moscow, Putin also wants to address his compatriots with a speech. The NATO Secretary General rejected accusations from Moscow that the western defense alliance was behaving aggressively. “For more than seven decades we have been able to prevent war for our allies. NATO is a defensive alliance and the current crisis shows that it is vital for Europe and North America to stand together in NATO to secure peace and to preserve the values ​​of freedom and democracy,” said Stoltenberg.

0.51 a.m .: Selenskyj accuses Russia of forgetting history on the anniversary of the World War

Shortly before the celebrations marking the end of World War II in Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin of forgetting history. “Russia has forgotten everything that was important to the victors of World War II,” he said in a video message. Decades after the Second World War, “evil is back, in a different uniform, but with the same goal.” Russia celebrates the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany on May 9th.

12:22 a.m .: Great Britain imposes further sanctions on Russia and Belarus

Britain has imposed new sanctions on Russia and Belarus, including import tariffs on precious metals and export bans. “This far-reaching package of sanctions will further damage the Russian war machine,” said Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan. The punitive tariffs on platinum and palladium, among other things, affect a total trading volume of 1.4 billion pounds (1.6 billion euros). The export bans on goods worth £250m target Russian industry. With the new sanctions package, goods worth a total of over £4 billion are now subject to import and export sanctions that are “significantly damaging to Putin’s war effort,” Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said. As Trevelyan emphasized, the most recent round of sanctions was also coordinated internationally.