Russia Ukraine War Top Developments: Russia is celebrating today i.e. May 9 as the Victory Day, the day when Russian troops triumphed over Nazi Germany in World War II. It is an annual celebration where Moscow holds parades and showcases its tanks, missiles, etc. Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a significant speech in Russian capital Moscow. Putin claimed that Russian troops were fighting for the country’s security in Ukraine and observed a minute of silence to honor the troops who fell in combat. He said the campaign in Ukraine was a necessary move to ward off what he described as “an absolutely unacceptable threat just next to our borders,” reported AP. Putin also drew parallels between the Red Army’s fighting against the Nazi troops and the Russian forces’ action in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, about 60 people were presumed dead after Russian forces bombed a school that was being used as a shelter in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region. Luhansk is a part of Donbas, reportedly the industrial heartland of Eastern Ukraine. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the reported school bombing another reminder that the locals/civilians pay the highest price in the war. Russian forces have pushed forward in their approach to capture the crucial southern port city of Mariupol.

SITUATION IN MARIUPOL

With the war advancing in its 11th week now, the Russian troops are showing an aggressive approach to capture a seaside steel mill where Ukrainian fighters are trying to save Mariupol from falling. The last civilians who were stuck in the mill have been evacuated. According to media reports, the mill is the only part of the city not overtaken by the invaders, and its defeat would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Russia to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014. Ukrainian forces that are stuck at the Azovstal steel mine have reportedly vowed to continue the fight as long as they are alive. Reuters reported that the deputy commander of the Azov regiment holed up in the sprawling Azovstal steel plant has requested the international community to help evacuate the wounded soldiers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the attacks could be linked to Victory Day, which marks Russia’s greatest triumph, over Nazi Germany in 1945.

According to the UN, over 170 civilians were evacuated from Mariupol on Sunday. Some evacuees have reached the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, which is about 230 km northwest of Mariupol. Reports suggest that many who fled the city and nearby areas are still waiting to register in a car park set up for evacuees.

SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

Many Western leaders and celebrities made surprise visits to Ukraine with the intent to show support to the war-torn country. US first lady Jill Biden met with Olena Zelenska, her Ukrainian counterpart. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised his country’s flag at its embassy in Kyiv. Apart from politicians, music band U2’s Bono, alongside bandmate The Edge, performed the song “stand by me” in a Kyiv subway station that had been used as a bomb shelter. Leaders from the G-7 countries also met virtually on Sunday and announced their commitment to ban or phase out Russian oil imports in their latest effort to pressure Moscow into ending its aggression on Ukraine.

(With Agency Inputs)