Russia and Ukraine both claim victory

Russian soldiers during the parade on Red Square on May 9, 2022

WOMENthick 8-5, in a message to post-Soviet countries on the 77th anniversary of Victory DayPutin declared “as in 1945, victory will be ours (Russia)”.

A day later, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine would “definitely win, although the road to victory is very difficult”.

Putin: “Don’t forget the lesson of World War 2”

On the morning of May 9, the parade marking the 77th anniversary of Victory over fascism in the Great Patriotic War kicked off at Red Square in Moscow with a display of Russia’s arsenal.

However, contrary to the plan, Russia canceled the air show and ended the parade early with the excuse given by the Kremlin as bad weather.

Although Russia was unable to demonstrate 77 aircraft and helicopters as well as the Ilyushin Il-80 strategic airborne command aircraft, Russia included in the parade the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, missile system S-400 surface-to-air fire…

The parade was not only notable for its weapons and large scale, but also for President Putin’s speech.

Referring repeatedly to the Russian military campaign in Ukraine in his opening speech of the military parade on May 9, Putin said that the Russian forces present in Ukraine are now defending the Russian Fatherland against the “threat of Russia”. The threat is completely unacceptable.”

According to AFP news agency, President Putin attracted public support for Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine by linking the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the Great Patriotic War of World War II.

“You are fighting for the Fatherland, for the future of the Fatherland, so that no one will forget the lessons of World War II,” Putin told thousands of soldiers present at Red Square in Moscow.

Putin accused Western countries of planning an attack on “our historic lands (Russia)”, including the Russian-speaking Donbass region and the Crimean peninsula.

“A completely unacceptable threat to us has been created, right at our borders,” Putin said, adding that “the West does not want to listen to Russia.”

Therefore, according to Putin, Russia has no choice but to carry out a military operation in Ukraine in response. He called it “the only right decision” for a “sovereign, strong and independent country” like Russia.

Zelensky: “Soon there will be 2 Victory Days in Ukraine”

On the same day Russia celebrates Victory Day, in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his country will win the conflict with Russia and will not give up any territory.

The Ukrainian leader said Ukraine is a free people that has fought to defend their land many times in history and has its “own path”. “We will not give anyone a piece of our historic land,” Zelensky said.

“Today (May 9), we celebrate Victory Day over Nazism. We are proud of our ancestors, who together with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition defeated communism. Nazism. And we will not allow anyone to take over this victory. We will not allow it to be usurped,” said Mr. Zelensky.

“Soon there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine. Someone will not have a day,” the Ukrainian president said in a video that showed him walking on deserted streets in Ukraine, with anti-tank columns erected behind him. “We won last year. We will win this year. Khreschatyk will soon see a victory parade!”

Meanwhile, in his speech in Red Square, Putin did not mention the fierce battle for control of the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine.

According to Deutsche Welle, so far, the fighting between Russia and Ukraine continues to take place on many fronts, but in the port city of Mariupol, Russia is the closest to victory. The remaining Ukrainian soldiers here are still entrenched in the Azovstal Steel Plant.

Full control of Mariupol would allow Russia to create a land corridor between Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by separatists.

After two and a half months of conducting a military campaign without finding a way out, Russia is now intensifying its attacks in eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s military parade on May 9 came a day after Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of an air strike that killed 60 people at a school in the Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine.