Putin will do his best to use the sacred date for propaganda purposes and to mobilize “cannon fodder” in the face of its acute shortage.
Putin can officially declare war on Ukraine on May 9 , CNN reports, citing US and Western officials.
May 9, known as Victory Day in Russia, marks the 1945 victory of the Russians over the Nazis. Western experts have long speculated that Putin will use the symbolic and propagandistic value of the day to declare either a military achievement in Ukraine, or launch a major escalation of hostilities, or both.
The most likely scenario is that on May 9, Putin officially declares war on Ukraine. Today, Russian officials insist that the conflict was just a “special military operation” with the main goal of “denazification”.
“I think he will try to abandon his special operation against the Nazis,” he said. This week, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told LBC Radio that more people were needed, more Russian cannon fodder was needed. “
Wallace added that he would not be surprised if Putin announced this day. that “we are currently at war with the world's Nazis, and we must conduct a mass mobilization .”
The official declaration of war on May 9 may inspire Russian citizens and further incline public opinion in favor of escalation. In addition, under Russian law, this will allow Putin to mobilize conscripts whom Russia desperately needs.
Read also: Mass mobilization of reservists in Russia by May 9 would be a “recognition of failure” – the British Ministry of Defense
Western and Ukrainian experts estimate that at least 10,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war since Russia invaded Ukraine just over two months ago.
Other options for May 9 include the annexation of Luhansk and Donetsk. breakaway in eastern Ukraine, an attack on Odessa in the south, or a declaration of full control of the southern port city of Mariupol.
Luhansk and Donetsk “sometime in mid-May “US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter said on Monday. There are also signs that Russia may plan to declare and annex a “people's republic” in the southeastern city of Kherson.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday that grounds to believe that the Russians will do everything possible to use “May 9 for propaganda purposes.
See special topic: Since the beginning of the invasion Russia has launched 2,125 Pentagon missiles in UkraineAmmunition, also known as dumb bombs, does not have accurate guidance, so it enters both military and civilian infrastructure chaotically. Johnson will address the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday – The Guardian The publication reports that the British Prime Minister once again wants to show his support for Ukraine in a difficult time. In the Luhansk region, the occupiers shot the house of an APC farmer for refusing to give them his equipment – Gaidai In the occupied territories, the invaders are trying to create collective farms and take away from local residents of their property. A fragment passed through the tattooed Crimea on the shoulder: Defender of “Azovstal” shared a poignant photo A friend of the fighter from Mariupol was wounded. Ukraine's air defenses have destroyed eight enemy drones in one day, one of which costs $ 7 million – the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy the enemy in the air.
