On March 24, it was one month since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite the large number of casualties suffered, Vladimir Putin's invading troops continue to siege the neighboring country amid allegations of war crimes. However, as reported by the General Staff of Ukrainian forces, the Russian head of state is considering declaring the end of the military incursion on a symbolic date.
Russian propaganda “imposes the idea that the war must end before May 9, 2022″. It's not just any date. Every May 9 Russia celebrates Victory Day with an extravagant parade on Red Square in Moscow to commemorate the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II.
“According to the information available, among the personnel of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, propaganda work is constantly being carried out, which imposes the idea that the war must end before 9 May 2022", announced this week the General Staff of the Ukrainian forces.
Victory Day is a national holiday in Russia. Most public offices, schools and businesses close that day.
Since coming to power, Vladimir Putin used that date every year to showcase Russian military might and to intensify his speech against the United States and the West. Last year, during the celebration on Red Square in Moscow, he assured that his country would “firmly” defend its geopolitical interests.
The Western countries of Europe, meanwhile, celebrate Victory Day on May 8. Russia and other countries of the Soviet bloc do so a day later because the end of the war came after midnight local, already entered May 9.
Meanwhile, Putin's troops continue their advance on Ukrainian soil, with the great goal of seizing control of Kiev, the capital.
After repeated threats, the Russian president gave the green light to the military invasion on February 24, hoping that the incursion would be brief and would bring an end to the government of Volodymyr Zelensky. But none of that happened. Putin did not expect the great resistance power of Ukrainian forces. Nor did he imagine the magnitude of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the Western powers.
Last week NATO estimated that 40,000 Russian soldiers died, are injured, are prisoners or remain missing from the start of the invasion. A senior official of the Atlantic Alliance indicated that the number of fallen Russian military personnel ranges from 7,000 to 15,000.
In addition, there is speculation that Russia too would have already lost more than 10% of its equipment, which seriously impairs its ability to keep pace with operations.
As allegations of war crimes by Russian troops grow, the Kremlin continues to highlight the work of its military personnel. This Sunday Putin assured that the country is proud of its soldiers who “do their duty” in Ukraine.
In his message for National Guard Day (Ros Gvardiya), which is celebrated this Sunday, he said that “the real combat situation is certainly associated with high risks.” “I know very well how you act in such situations: with courage and professionalism, skill, determination and without fear. Our huge country is proud.”
According to the latest UK assessments, Putin's invading troops seek to surround Ukrainian forces fighting in the Donbas, in the east of the country. To do this, they are moving troops from their positions in Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south, where two major battles are being fought of the war.
“The war front in northern Ukraine remains largely static, with Ukrainian counterattacks hindering Russian attempts to reorganize its forces,” says the report that the British Defense Ministry is preparing on the basis of its intelligence data.
For their part, Ukrainian forces indicated that Russian medical institutions, established in the territory near the Ukrainian border, are “occupied by wounded soldiers of the Russian Federation who participated in the war against Ukraine”.
“As a matter of urgency, the enemy is taking steps to renew the combat capability of the air units of the airborne troops, which have suffered critical losses in both personnel and military equipment,” explained the Ukrainian Army, which also highlighted the “enormous difficulties” Putin's troops are facing in its move towards Kiev.
In Crimea, for example, a Russian brigade held a ceremony for 100 deceased members. Something similar happened in the city of Sevastopol, where they claimed that sailors of the Black Sea fleet had died.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces update said that Russian troops had established a “filtration camp” in Dokuchaivsk, in the Donetsk region, for civilians trying to flee the besieged city of Mariupol, where, according to local authorities, a “genocide” is being committed against the civilian population.
The Russian regime, for its part, continues to threaten the possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Dmitri Medvedev, former Russian President and Vice-President of the country's Security Council, said on Saturday that Moscow could attack an enemy using only conventional weapons with atomic bombs.
“We have a special document on nuclear deterrence. This document clearly indicates the reasons why the Russian Federation is entitled to use nuclear weapons. There are some of them, let me remind you: number one is the situation, when Russia is hit by a nuclear missile. The second case is any use of other nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies,” he enumerated.
“The third is an attack on critical infrastructure that has paralyzed our nuclear deterrent forces. And the fourth case is when an act of aggression is committed against Russia and its allies, which endangers the existence of the country itself, even without the use of nuclear weapons, that is, with the use of conventional weapons,” he triggered further tension with the West.
Putin said late last month that his country's nuclear forces should be on high alert, raising fears that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to nuclear war.
Russia has some 6,000 nuclear warheads, the largest arsenal in the world.
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