Vladimir Putin tells a huge military parade in Moscow’s Red Square that Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are “defending the motherland”
He says the invasion of Ukraine – what he called a “special military operation” – was necessary and had been provoked by the West
But he does not make any major announcement related to the war, including declaring victory or full-scale mobilisation
Parades have been taking place in 28 Russian cities involving 65,000 people, 2,400 items of military hardware and more than 400 aircraft
Ukraine’s President Zelensky says Russia can’t appropriate victory in WW2, adding: “We won then. We will win now.”
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says Putin has made “fairytale claims” to justify the invasion and accuses the president and his generals of war crimes.
Meanwhile, While a lot of today’s focus has been on Victory Day events in Moscow, fighting on the ground in Ukraine is continuing.
An attack near the town of Zolote in the Luhansk region in the east of the country destroyed a US-made counter-battery radar station, Russia’s defence ministry has said.
The BBC is unable to verify this information independently.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden pledged a further $150 million worth of military aid for Ukrainian forces, including additional radar units, along with artillery and munitions.
(BBC)
