LIVE – War in Ukraine: Russian nuclear forces are “always” ready for combat, Putin warns

Two people were killed by Russian bombing in Nikopol, southern Ukraine, local authorities announced on Thursday. “Enemy artillery killed two people: a 62-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman,” said Serguiï Lyssak. The governor of Dnipropetrovsk province published photographs of a house with a burning roof and other damaged buildings. The city of Nikopol is regularly the target of attacks by Russian forces established just across the Dnieper, a river that will become a front line at the end of 2022.

During his May 9 speech, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Russia’s strategic nuclear forces were “always” on alert. Russian strategic nuclear forces are “always” combat ready, Vladimir Putin stressed. “Russia will do everything to avoid a global confrontation. But, at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic (nuclear) forces are always on alert,” declared the Russian president.

During his speech on May 9 to celebrate the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in 1945, Vladimir Putin spoke of the “special military operation” in Ukraine, thanking the soldiers and officers who participated in it. “Today we see how the truth about the Second World War is eroded, everyone is trying to demolish the memorials and monuments in honor of the veterans,” he lambasted, believing that the we “try to make people forget these sacred exploits”.

Denouncing “the distortion of history”, he pointed out the “global policy of Western elites” which “create divisions” and “slow down the development of countries and peoples”. “We reject this idea of ​​superiority and we understand that these concepts are dangerous,” said Vladimir Putin, assuring that Russia would do “everything to avoid a global collision”. “We will not allow anyone to threaten us,” he further assured.

Just invested, Vladimir Putin is supervising a major military parade on Thursday to celebrate the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in 1945, a memory that the Russian president invokes extensively to justify his assault on Ukraine. More than two years after the start of the large-scale offensive against kyiv, in February 2022, the Russian army has increased small advances in eastern Ukraine and is in a much better position than the previous year , despite the losses.

Vladimir Putin, 71, who has made this conflict one of the markers of his power policy, promises “victory” to his fellow citizens on each occasion in a fight against a Ukrainian government presented as “neo-Nazi”. The head of the Kremlin has long mobilized the memory of the Second World War – which left 27 million dead on the Soviet side – to present himself as heir to the power of the USSR and legitimize his own power.

The military parade of May 9, staged as a great spectacle, is the central piece of this warlike tale supposed to exalt the power of the country.

On the X platform, the Quai d’Orsay pays tribute to journalist Arman Soldin, killed a year ago in Ukraine.

On May 9, Russia celebrates the victory of the Allies over Nazi Germany. Ceremonies organized in a very specific security context. LCI correspondent in Russia, Jérôme Garro, takes stock:

In parallel with the strikes carried out by kyiv on Belgorod, the Russian army claimed this morning that the Krasnodar region, near the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, had also been targeted by drones, and that a fuel depot had been badly damaged. “About six drones were destroyed, but several fell on the depot grounds. As a result, a fire broke out and several tanks were damaged,” the Krasnodar region headquarters said.

In his traditional post on social networks last night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated that he was preparing a forum on peace with several international leaders. “It is essential that we maintain dialogue with all leaders,” he said before estimating that they shared “practically the same objective: to restore true stability in international affairs and ensure justice for every nation , so that no nation is destroyed.” “History will be grateful to all those who help us,” assures the Ukrainian head of state.

At least eight people were injured last night in a Ukrainian air attack on the Russian town of Belgorod and its surroundings, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced. “The city and district of Belgorod were targeted by an air attack by the Ukrainian armed forces. Residential buildings and cars were directly hit,” Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram.

“According to preliminary information, eight people were injured: seven adults and one child,” he added. Five of those people, including an 11-year-old girl, were injured by shrapnel and were hospitalized, and the other three were treated at the scene, he said. According to the governor, 19 apartment buildings comprising 34 apartments, one individual house and 37 vehicles were damaged in the city of Belgorod. Four individual houses and three cars were damaged in the village of Dubovoe, Belgorod district.

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