Currents News Staff
Russia’s Victory Day parade is intended to commemorate the country’s defeat of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II.
Russian President Vladimir Putin used the event to reiterate his accusation that the west left him no choice but to invade Ukraine, and offered few clues on the direction of the conflict.
“Russia repelled this aggression in a preventive way and this was the only correct decision,” said Putin.
Over the weekend there was a new slate of sanctions, with U.S. cutting off Kremlin-controlled media outlets from American advertisers and banning Russia from using some American consulting services.
“There was no reason for him to either declare victory or to declare a war that he has already been carrying on for more than two months,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to U.N.
On Monday the president of the European Council was forced to take shelter during a visit to Odesa as missiles struck the region.
This, following First Lady Jill Biden’s unexpected Mother’s Day trip to western Ukraine.
Her visit to an active war zone is a rarity from the spouse of a sitting U.S. President.
Meanwhile, dozens are feared dead in the Luhansk region after Russians were accused of bombing a school sheltering Ukrainians over the weekend.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is vowing his country will win the war.
“We are free people who have their own path. Today, we are waging war on this path and we will not give anyone a single piece of our land,” said the Ukrainian President.