May 9 marks Russia’s Victory Day, the country’s largest public holiday and a symbol of its national pride.
Often cited as the near-equivalent of the United States’ Fourth of July, Russian President Vladimir Putin has long used the holiday, which celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, to glorify Russia and himself. The Kremlin has staged massive shows of strength to mark the day, with parades and other displays of military might.
Multiple sources have said Putin secretly wants the war in Ukraine to end by May 9. The claim comes from multiple sources, including a March 24 news outlet tweet that cites military intelligence reports, an exiled Russian legislator who said Putin will claim victory, and another report that says Putin is pressuring generals for a big victory.
Axios reported earlier this week that Western allies are rushing military aid to Ukraine with the May 9 deadline in mind. Experts and leaders have warned the national holiday could mark a key deadline in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Read more about Victory Day here.
Latest developments:
►A Russian airstrike may have killed as many as 60 people sheltering in the basement of a school in the eastern Ukrainian town of Bilohorivka on Sunday, one of the deadliest assaults against civilians in the war.
►Leaders from the Group of Seven, including the United States, pledged Sunday to ban the import of Russian oil and impose a new round of sanctions.
Final civilians leave Mariupol steel mill as soldiers take their final stand
The last civilians who were sheltering in Mariupol’s sprawling steel mill arrived late Sunday in Zaporizhzhia, the first major Ukrainian city beyond the frontlines.
The Azovstal steel mill is the only part of Mariupol not under Russian control. The port city has been constantly bombarded by Russia for weeks, but the tunnels and bunkers deep underground the mill provided some protection to those still in Mariupol.
More than 300 people were evacuated in recent days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after conditions in the underground bunkers increasingly worsened and Russia ramped up its shelling.
Now, only an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters remain in the steel mill, where they are making what appears to be their last stand.
Zelenskyy said it would be “difficult” to evacuate the Ukrainian soldiers still there.
— Celina Tebor
Contributing: The Associated Press
