Russia’s forces have launched a series of attacks across Ukraine, killing four civilians and wounding one person, as the country marks the 77th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv, with debris from one of them striking a two-story apartment building in the western Svyatoshynskyi district, injuring five people, according to Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. The attacks came as Russia enforced tight security on the eve of traditional Red Square commemorations marking Victory Day, with Moscow canceling military parades in at least 21 Russian cities due to “security concerns” or “vaguely” referring to the “current situation”. Russian authorities have also banned the use of drones in Moscow and St Petersburg, while car sharing services have been temporarily barred from the city center. In St Petersburg, jet skis have been prohibited in certain parts of the city until May 10.
The Ukrainian Defence Ministry reported that Russian shelling of 127 targets across northern, southern, and eastern parts of Ukraine killed three civilians. The Kremlin’s forces used tanks, drones, mortars, warplanes, multiple rocket launchers, and surface-to-air missiles to bombard Ukraine, with Russian long-range bombers launching up to eight cruise missiles at Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, authorities said. One person was killed and three wounded in the Odesa region, with some of the Soviet-era cruise missiles self-destructing or falling into the sea before reaching their targets. Ukrainian air force spokesman, Yuri Ihnat, noted that some of the missiles did manage to hit their targets, but declined to provide further details.
Volodymyr Zelensky (Via Volodymyr Zelensky/Twitter)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, sent a draft bill to parliament proposing a Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War on May 8 and a Day of Europe on May 9, further distancing Kyiv from Moscow. Zelensky equated Russia’s goals in Ukraine with those of the Nazis, saying, “Unfortunately, evil has returned… although now it is another aggressor, the goal is the same – enslavement or destruction.” The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian-installed authorities have begun evacuating residents of Tokmak, a town in the frontline southern Zaporizhzhia region, towards the Black Sea coast. Those working for Kremlin-appointed local authorities, as well as children and educational workers, are being relocated to Berdyansk, a Russian-occupied seaside city some 100 kilometers south-east.
The Wagner Group, a private military company, has also been making headlines, with founder Yevgeniy Prigozhin promising additional ammunition and equipment for its offensive in the eastern city of Bakhmut. The group’s request for reinforcements comes amid a long-running dispute with Russia’s regular military over credit and tactics in the war. Prigozhin claimed that Russian defense officials have since committed to providing the mercenaries with “ammunition and equipment, as much as is needed to continue” and given Wagner a free hand to take operational decisions in Bakhmut. However, Ukrainian military spokesman scoffed at Prigozhin’s claims about a lack of ammunition, saying Wagner’s problems in Bakhmut are instead due to a high kill rate and its inability to replenish its ranks. “There is no shell shortage. This is absolutely not true,” Serhii Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces, said on Ukrainian TV. “There are more than enough shells to fire at our positions.”
