May 9 celebrations in Russia | A speech, a parade, but no escalation

The fear, repeatedly expressed in recent days, of a muscular intervention, even an escalation in the war waged by Russia against Ukraine on this Monday, May 9, the patriotic day of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany, did not take place.

Andre Duchesne
The Press

This 75^and The day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine was like any other, marked by death and destruction, particularly in the Luhansk region in the far east of Ukraine, and in Mariupol, but in part eclipsed by the speeches of the commemoration, where each camp strongly denounced the other.

In Moscow’s Red Square, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his army was in Ukraine to defend “the motherland” against the “unacceptable threat” posed by its Western-backed neighbour. He reiterated that Ukraine was preparing an attack against pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region and wanted to acquire the atomic bomb.

His speech was followed by a parade of some 11,000 troops and dozens of vehicles, some returning from the Ukrainian front. The aerial portion of the parade was canceled due to inclement weather. An intriguing decision.

Thus, on the airwaves of CNN, Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at The New School (New York), noted in an interview that “bad weather does not[avait] never been a problem before” in this kind of deployment of force.

“Without much energy”

Professor of international studies at the Royal Military College of Saint-Jean, Yann Breault has heard nothing new. “There was absolutely no innovation in the editorial lines of what Putin said in a speech without much energy,” he said in an interview with The Press. There were no surprises, just an ordinary parade. The most striking thing about this commemoration is the total absence of any foreign delegation, compared to the celebrations of 2005, when around fifty heads of state came and applauded the historic legacy of the Soviet victory. Even heads of state close to the Russian president stayed at home.

Zelensky alone in the street

In a staging unlike that used in Moscow, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, greeted this day of May 9 by shooting a video of more than five minutes where he walks alone between anti-tank defenses in Khrechtchatyk, Kyiv’s main thoroughfare, delivering his message. Inspired by a writing by philosopher Grigori Skovoroda, he said, “There is nothing more dangerous than an insidious enemy, but there is nothing more venomous than a pretended friend. On February 24, we discovered the truth when a so-called friend started a war against Ukraine. »

Biden signs and sends arms

In Washington, US President Joe Biden signed a law (Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022) aimed at speeding up the delivery of military aid to Ukraine. This law reactivates a device put in place by the American administration during the Second World War to help Europe against the Nazi invader. Virtually all members on both sides of the House of Representatives voted in favor of the law.

Russian ambassador sprayed in Poland

At the Warsaw cemetery, where he was about to lay a wreath in honor of Soviet soldiers of the Second World War, the Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreev, was attacked by pro-Russian activists. Ukrainians. The latter blocked his way by shouting “fascists” and waving the flag of Ukraine before other demonstrators threw a red substance, of syrupy consistency, in the face of the diplomat. “I am proud of my country and my president,” Ambassador Andreev said as Moscow strongly denounced the incident.

“No victory to celebrate”

This day was also marked by the declarations of several Western leaders. During a visit to Odessa, European Council President Charles Michel said: “The Kremlin wants to suppress your spirit of freedom and democracy. I am totally convinced that it will never happen. The latter also had to find refuge when Russian strikes occurred in the region. In Strasbourg, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, declared that once the war was over, peace could not be built by humiliating the Russians, a thinly veiled reference to the conditions imposed on Germany at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919. In New York, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Putin “recognized he had no victory to celebrate” due to the absence something new in his speech.

“Surrender is not an option”

On the ground, observers noted “very intense battles” in the area of ​​the towns of Rubizhne and Bilogorikka, in the Luhansk region. In Mariupol, fighting continued in the area of ​​the Azovstal steel plant. The last Ukrainian defenders entrenched in the ruins of the complex came under fire from Russian artillery and tanks. “Surrender is not an option, because our life does not interest Russia. Leaving us alive does not matter to him,” said Ilya Samoilenko, a Ukrainian intelligence officer.

With Agence France-Presse and CNN