Russia-Ukraine updates: Wester slams Putin’s military parades
Western powers, including the UK and Germany, slam Russia for its wartime Victory Day celebrations.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday, May 9.
This blog is now closed, thanks for joining us. These were the updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday, May 9.
- Western leaders criticise Moscow’s showcasing of military power as Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine intensifies.
- In slimmed-down Victory Day celebrations marking the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II, Putin says civilisation is at a “decisive turning point” and that “real war has been unleashed” against Russia, as he presides over parades on Moscow’s Red Square.
- Earlier, Russia launched about 15 cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital, the second attack in as many days. Ukraine says its air defence systems shot all of them down after air raid alerts blared over most of the country.
- Russia’s Wagner Group fighters, battling in east Ukraine, have received a “combat order”, warning that if they abandon positions in Bakhmut, they will be considered traitors, said the head of the mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
US announces $1.2bn in military aid for Ukraine
The United States has announced a new $1.2bn military aid package for Ukraine that will include air defence systems, ammunition and funds for training, the Pentagon has said.
Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds will be used to buy the weapons, allowing President Joe Biden’s administration to buy weapons from industry rather than pull them from US stocks.
In the package, Ukraine will receive additional air defence systems and munitions, as well as the technology to integrate Western air defence launchers, missiles and radars with Ukraine’s native defence systems.
The funds will pay for 155mm Howitzer ammunition, counter-drone ammunition, satellite imagery and various types of training, the Pentagon said.
Russian citizens take language test to avoid expulsion from Latvia
Dozens of elderly Russians are waiting to take a basic Latvian language test as a proof of loyalty to a country where they have lived for decades, fearing they may be expelled from the Baltic country if they fail.
Speaking Russian instead of Latvian had not been a problem until now, but the war in Ukraine changed the picture. Last year’s election campaign was dominated by questions of national identity and security concerns.
The government now demands a language test from the 20,000 people who live in the country but took Russian passports after giving up Latvian-issued documents as the loyalty of Russian citizens is a worry, said Dimitrijs Trofimovs, state secretary at the Ministry of the Interior.
UN aid chief traveling to Turkey for grain deal talks: Report
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths is traveling to Turkey as a high-level meeting with Ankara, Russia, Ukraine and the UN is scheduled on May 10 and 11 in Istanbul to discuss the Black Sea grain deal, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported.
UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters that Griffiths left Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for Istanbul.
Russia wants obstacles to exports of its fertiliser to be removed for it to agree to another extension of the grain deal which was signed in Istanbul last July among the four parties.
The deal is set to expire on May 18.
French parliament calls on EU to list Wagner as ‘terrorist group’
The French parliament has adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to formally label Russian mercenary force Wagner a “terrorist group”.
The resolution, which is nonbinding and symbolic, passed with unanimous support across the political spectrum.
Its author, ruling party MP Benjamin Haddad, has said he hopes it will encourage the 27 members of the EU to put the Wagner Group on the EU’s official list of “terrorist” organisations.
“Wherever they work, Wagner members spread instability and violence,” he told parliament. “They kill and torture. They massacre and pillage. They intimidate and manipulate with almost total impunity.”
AFP journalist Arman Soldin killed by rocket fire in eastern Ukraine: AFP
AFP’s Ukraine video coordinator Arman Soldin has been killed by rocket fire near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, AFP journalists who witnessed the incident said.
The attack took place around 4:30pm (13:30 GMT) in the outskirts of the town close to Bakhmut, the epicentre of the fighting in eastern Ukraine for several months.
Ukraine displeased with governments’ participation to Victory Day
Ukraine has expressed its displeasure with the participation of the prime minister of Armenia and the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus in Tuesday’s Victory Day military parade in Moscow.
“We consider participation in the public event alongside a war criminal to be an immoral and unfriendly step towards Ukraine and an expression of contempt for the Ukrainian people,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The ministry emphasised that the International Criminal Court in The Hague had issued an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes.
Situation of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant deteriorating: Report
The situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, is deteriorating, Funke Media Group reported.
According to Ukraine’s state-owned operating company Energoatom, Russia is bringing more troops and military vehicles to the site of the nuclear power plant.
“The situation of equipment and personnel is deteriorating,” Energoatom President Petro Kotin told Funke.
Eurovision kicks off in UK on behalf of Ukraine
The Eurovision 2023 contest has kicked off in Liverpool, northern England, where acts from 37 countries are competing to win the 67th edition of the musical event.
Liverpool is hosting on behalf of Ukraine, which won the contest last with Kalush Orchestra’s, Stefania.
Ukraine was unable to stage the event this year, as the winner usually does, because of Russia’s invasion.
The United Kingdom, which came second, has promised to combine the creativity of Ukraine and the UK under the banner, “United by Music”.
Russians hold victory parade in Norway’s Svalbard
Dozens of vehicles are waving Russian flags through Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic to mark the anniversary of the Soviet defeat of the Nazis, images on social media show.
Approximately 50 4x4s, trucks and snowmobiles drove down the street to marching music, overflown by a helicopter in the snowy Russian mining community of Barentsburg – an unusual scene in the NATO country.
Svalbard, located about a thousand kilometres (600 miles) from the North Pole, is under Norway’s sovereignty but grants the nationals of other signatories the right to exploit its natural resources.
The Russian state-owned company Trust Arktikugol runs a coal mine in Barentsburg, a village home to about 300 to 400 Russian speakers, mainly Russians and Ukrainians from Donbas, as well as a Lenin statue.
UK cautions Ukraine offensive may not be ‘decisive’
The United Kingdom’s top diplomat has cautioned that a long-awaited Ukrainian offensive against Russia may not prove decisive as he urged sustained support for Kyiv.
On a visit to Washington, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly called for ramped-up military aid to help Ukraine win as quickly as possible, but warned not against pinning excessive hopes on the upcoming operation.
“They have demonstrated themselves to be very, very effective defenders of their country, but we need to recognise that there might not be a simple, quick, decisive breakthrough,” Cleverly said at the Atlantic Council.
“I hope and expect they will do very, very well, because whenever I’ve seen the Ukrainians they have outperformed expectations.”
A ‘united Europe’ must be stronger than Russia: Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy says the EU and Ukraine’s efforts to secure a “united Europe” must be as strong as Russia’s desire to “destroy” it.
On Twitter, the Ukrainian leader said, linking to a video of the news conference, “Our efforts for a united Europe, security & peace must be as strong as Russia’s desire to destroy our security, freedom and Europe. We, Europe, must act together proportionally to the threat, not weaker, to defeat evil of aggression. I said this at a press conference with Ursula von der Leyen.”
Our efforts for a united Europe, security & peace must be as strong as 🇷🇺 desire to destroy our security, freedom and Europe. We, Europe, must act together proportionally to the threat, not weaker, to defeat evil of aggression. I said this at a press conference with @vonderleyen. pic.twitter.com/3C1CdYRYzv
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 9, 2023
Wagner boss accuses Russia of fleeing positions in Bakhmut
Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian military of abandoning positions near Bakhmut and said that the state could not defend its territory.
In a video with expletives, Prigozhin said, “Today, everything is being done so that the front line crumbles.”
“Today, one of the defence ministry’s units fled one of our flanks, abandoning their positions. Everyone fled.”
He said soldiers were fleeing because of the “stupidity” of Russian army commanders, who were giving “criminal orders”.
“Soldiers should not die because of the absolute stupidity of their leadership,” Prigozhin said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Wagner founder, who has threatened to leave Bakhmut over disputes on the lack of ammunition delivered to his fighters, said that they were told if they left the besieged city, they would be regarded as “traitors”.
UK asks companies to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles
A British-led group of European countries have asked for expressions of interest to supply Ukraine with missiles ranging up to 300km (190 miles).
The call-out was included in a notice posted last week by the International Fund for Ukraine, a group of countries including the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence, which administers the fund, asked companies to get in touch if they could provide missiles that can be launched from land, sea or air with a payload of between 20 and 490kg (44 and 1,078 pounds).
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, told Reuters that Kyiv had no concrete information about the UK-led effort to supply long-range missiles.
“We would welcome it if the UK takes on a leadership role with the long-range missiles, in the same way they did with the Challenger 2 main battle tanks,” he said.
EU’s von der Leyen visits Kyiv on Victory day
EU President Ursula von der Leyen hailed Ukraine as “the beating heart of today’s European values” in a symbolic visit to Kyiv as Russia marked Victory Day.
“Our efforts for a united Europe, for security and peace, need to be as strong as Russia’s desire to destroy our security, our freedom, our Europe,” Zelenskyy told a joint news conference.
Von der Leyen welcomed Zelenskyy’s decision to adopt Europe Day, announced on Twitter that the two had discussed further sanctions on Moscow and said, “We continue to do everything in our power to erode Putin’s war machine and his revenues.”
“The focus is now on cracking down on circumvention, together with our international partners.”
She also said that they had discussed Ukraine’s path towards joining the bloc.
We continue to do everything in our power to erode Putin’s war machine and his revenues.
@EU_Commission proposed an 11th package of sanctions.The focus is now on cracking down on circumvention, together with our international partners ↓ https://t.co/XjZR4VSeI6
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 9, 2023
China says it is in touch with countries seeking a ceasefire
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang says Beijing will communicate with parties seeking a ceasefire, including Germany.
“As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and responsible major country, China will neither watch the fire from the other bank nor add fuel to the fire,” Qin said alongside German counterpart Annalena Baerbock during a visit to Berlin.
Commenting on an EU proposal to blacklist several Chinese companies as part of a new package of Russian sanctions, Qin said Beijing “firmly opposes some countries in using their so-called laws to impose long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions on other countries, including China”.
“China will make necessary responses and resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises,” Qin said.
Baerbock said that negotiations on the new package of sanctions were continuing but that it was essential to prevent Russian defence companies “from gaining access to war-relevant goods”.
Ukrainians belief in victory grows as Kyiv prepares for offensive
As the war reaches the 440-day mark, for Ukrainians, the belief in emerging victorious has only strengthened.
In January 2022, weeks before the war began, a survey found that only 56 percent of Ukrainians believed they would win a hypothetical battle against Russia.
Whereas a survey conducted in late February this year found that 95 percent of Ukrainians believe in a military triumph.
For some Ukrainians, the hope of a victory has grown with the talk of a counteroffensive that might have the potential to retake territory.
Read more here.
Germany’s Scholz: ‘We must not be intimidated by such power plays’
Western leaders have criticised Russia for holding Victory Day military parades as its brutal war in Ukraine drags on.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, said, “Putin is parading his soldiers, tanks and missiles today. We must not be intimidated by such power plays! Let’s remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine – for as long as it takes!”
The UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak brushed off Putin’s remarks – that “a real war” has been unleashed against Russia by the West’s “untamed ambitions”, saying the Russian leader was the only person to blame for the Ukraine war.
Other ways of exporting grain exist, says Ukraine
Ukraine says it has alternative ways of transporting grain if the Black Sea grain deal is not extended past May 18, its agriculture minister said.
“We do not envisage any apocalyptic scenario due to a million circumstances. Ukrainian farmers and Ukrainian traders have shown that they can do a lot, and a lot of [export] routes can be laid,” Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky was quoted by his ministry on Monday evening.
“There are several scenarios that will be involved in the worst-case scenarios,” he said, giving no more details.
Moscow has threatened to quit the agreement on May 18 unless a list of demands is met to remove obstacles to Russia’s own grain and fertiliser exports.
The RIA news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin as saying a high-level four-way meeting on the Black Sea grain deal would take place in Istanbul on May 10-11.
Forces targeted Kyiv’s ammunition supplies overnight: Russia
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had launched missile attacks at targets across Ukraine overnight, disrupting Kyiv’s supplies of ammunition to the frontline and troop movements.
“Overnight, Russia’s armed forces launched a concentrated strike using high-precision, long-range sea and air-based weapons aimed against enemy barracks and ammunition depots,” the defence ministry said in its regular daily briefing.
“As a result of the strikes, the advance of reserves was stopped, as was the delivery of ammunition to the combat zone,” it added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukraine said their air defences had shot down 23 of 25 Russian cruise missiles fired mainly at Kyiv overnight, just hours before Moscow celebrated Victory Day in front of the Kremlin.
In recent days, Russia has unleashed a flurry of air attacks on Ukraine.
Stay in Bakhmut or leave and be called a traitor: Wagner
The head of the Wagner Group says his forces were told that they would be seen as traitors if they abandoned their positions in Bakhmut.
“A combat order came yesterday which clearly stated that if we leave our positions [in Bakhmut], it will be regarded as treason against the motherland. That was the message to us,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said.
“[But] if there is no ammunition, then we will leave our positions and be the ones asking who is really betraying the Motherland. Apparently, the one [betraying the Motherland] is the person who signed it [the order to supply too little ammunition].”
He said his forces would stay in Bakhmut and insist they get their ammo “for a few more days”.
On Monday evening, Prigozhin said there were signs the ammunition problem was being solved, but on Tuesday, he said, “They’ve given us only 10 percent of what we asked for. We’ve been deceived.”
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 440
Click here for a roundup of the key events from day 440 of the war.
Keep reading:
EU must work harder to integrate defence industries: Germany
Germany’s chancellor says the EU must work harder to integrate its defence industries and agree on how to tackle migration.
Europe should boost efforts for closer military cooperation, joint procurement and the integration of its defence industries because it will only be heard if it speaks with one voice, Scholz told lawmakers at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Europe Day.
“Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has shown us how essential this realisation is,” he added.
Scholz, under pressure from some German cities over an influx of refugees from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan, also pushed for a deal on overhauling the EU’s asylum system before bloc-wide elections in 2024.
Zelenskyy, EU chief discuss European integration and sanctions
Zelenskyy says he discussed European integration, defence matters and sanctions against Russia at talks with the European Commission’s president.
He said trade restrictions imposed by Ukraine’s neighbours were “absolutely unacceptable” and Kyiv expected “strong” European decisions to remove them, adding that trade restrictions were harsh, protectionist and played into the hands of Russia.
Eastern European countries have placed restrictions on Ukrainian grain exports after an influx sent prices down in the neighbouring countries and caused farmers to protest.
After talks held in Kyiv as Russia celebrated Victory Day, Zelenskyy also said he expected the EU to approve more sanctions on Russia.
Prigozhin slams ‘happy Grandfather’ in video about ammunition
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin criticised those in charge of Russia’s war in a rant about the lack of ammunition for his fighters.
In a video, Prigozhin referred to a figure he called “a happy Grandfather” who thought all was well with the military campaign.
“And the happy grandfather thinks that he is good. If he turns out to be right, then may God grant everyone health. But what will the country do, our children, grandchildren who are the future of Russia, and how can we win this war if – by chance, and I’m just speculating here – it turns out that this grandfather is a complete ****head?,” he said.
The identity of the grandfather figure Prigozhin referred to was unclear.
Prigozhin has previously insulted Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff, but has avoided all personal criticism of Putin.
Russia unable to capture Bakhmut by Victory Day; battle persists: Ukraine
The Ukrainian military says Russian forces are still attacking Bakhmut, missing a deadline to capture it before Victory Day.
“The enemy has not taken Bakhmut,” Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, told the Reuters news agency.
“There are no significant changes in positions.”
On Sunday, a Ukrainian general said Russian forces hoped to capture the eastern Ukrainian city before the annual holiday on May 9, which commemorates the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany.
Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin threatened to pull his forces out of Bakhmut over complaints that the Russian defence ministry was withholding ammunition.