Putin marks Victory Day as Russia presses Ukraine assault
The national holiday marks Russia’s greatest triumph, over Nazi Germany in 1945.
The national holiday marks Russia’s greatest triumph, over Nazi Germany in 1945.
The mood in Russia this year is very different, because Russian troops are fighting and dying again.
Moscow was aiming to complete its conquest of Mariupol in time for Victory Day celebrations on Monday.
Some 2,000 Ukrainian fighters, by Russia’s most recent estimate, are holed up in a vast maze of tunnels and bunkers beneath the Azovstal steelworks.
Ukraine has urged the West to ramp up the supply of weapons.
The government estimated early on that around 300 people died and has since opened a war crimes investigation, paperwork obtained by the AP said.
Some Ukrainian fighters are still holed up in the plant in Mariupol.
The move comes almost two weeks after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his military not to storm the facility, but block it off instead.
Russia is planning to annex large parts of eastern Ukraine this month, a senior US official also warned.
Deliveroo backtracked on its plan to extend working shifts to 14 hours a day.
While official evacuations have often faltered, many people have managed to flee Mariupol under their own steam in recent weeks.
The tales began just days into the war and circulated for months, bolstered by official Ukrainian accounts.
As many as 100,000 people are believed to be in the blockaded port city still.
As many as 100,000 people are believed to be in the blockaded port city still.
Trolls are said to be amplifying pro-Kremlin viewpoints while targeting Boris Johnson’s social media accounts.