Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Victory parade: Putin did not declare war on Ukraine, but justified the military operation as inevitable

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not officially declared war on Ukraine, but said in a speech on Victory Day that Russia had no alternative but to continue the "special operation."

"In 2021, we offered to sign a security guarantee agreement. Russia was willing to compromise, but it was all in vain. They didn't listen to us. They had completely different plans, we saw that. Preparations were under way to attack Donbas, Kyiv started to talk about nuclear weapons, about actual absorption of our territories. This was an unacceptable threat, right next to our borders, and the United States and its partners were deploying their military infrastructure with state-of-the-art weapons, and the danger was growing. That is why Russia has made only the right decision to defend its sovereignty. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States spoke of its exclusivity, humiliating not only the world but also its satellites. (...) This moral degradation has become cynical Russophobia. (...) American veterans who wanted to come were banned from attending the parade, but we are proud of them. We honor all the allied armies that defeated militarism and Nazism," he said.

He took special place to thank the "militants from Donbas, who are fighting side by side with the Russian army, for the future of their homeland" and recalled "the barbaric strikes of the neo-Nazis in Odessa in 2014."

In his speech, Putin announced that he had signed a decree to provide all possible assistance to the families and children of those killed during the "special operation" and thanked the medics who care for the wounded at the battlefields.

He said that soldiers from Donbas were also present on Red Square. "We remember how terrorist gangs tried to weaken our positions and divide us, but nothing happened. Today, militias and soldiers are fighting side by side. This is the strength of Russia and our multinational people," Vladimir Putin concluded and called for minutes of silence in memory of those killed.

The victory parade began with the ringing of the Kremlin bells when the Spasskaya Tower counted down 10 o'clock.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces of the Russian Federation, Gen. Oleg Salyukov started the ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the victory over Hitler-Fascism.

He reported to the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, who entered the Red Square standing on the Russian convertible Aurus, which was shown for the first time last year. Shoigu welcomed the parade troops - ground forces, air defense, engineering and railway troops, troops for chemical and biological protection, space and missile forces, navy, Cossack society, cadets - Nakhimov and Suvorov, graduates of military schools. The Minister of Defense ended his honorary tour with a report to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin.

11,000 servicemen took part in the Victory Parade, dedicated to the 77th anniversary of the victory of Hitler's Germany. Traditionally, T-34-85 tanks were the first to cross the pavement of Russia's main square, followed by T-72B3M, an updated version of the T-72B adopted by the Soviet Army in the mid-1980s. After them came the operational-tactical complex "Iskander-M", designed for high-precision strikes on various targets at a distance of up to five hundred kilometers.

At the last moment, the Kremlin canceled the aerial part of the Red Square parade. According to Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, quoted by RIA Novosti, the reason is bad weather. "Such is the time over Moscow now," the Kremlin spokesman of RIA Novosti commented with a photo on its Telegram channel. Shortly before that, Evgeniy Tishkovets, a leading employee of the Phobos Meteorological Center, told RIA Novosti that the meteorological conditions for the time when the air part of the Victory Parade was to take place would be difficult. In the morning of May 9, cumulus clouds could appear in the collection area at the back of the cyclone. According to preliminary information and the flights in the sky over Lenin's mausoleum, the presidential IL-80, the machine equipped for the Russian head of state in case of a nuclear war, named after its American counterpart "Doomsday Plane", was to fly.

A squadron of MiG-29SMT fighters, which had to be arranged in the shape of the letter Z, did not fly over the audience's heads, as was the script.

The authorities in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic also organized a parade of victory. At the head of the column in Donetsk was the head of the local state administration Denis Pushilin. The inclusions from Luhansk on the national television channels were announced as direct inclusions from Voroshilovgrad, the old Soviet name of the city.

Four rockets hit Odessa while Putin was giving a speech in Red Square

Four rockets hit the Ukrainian port city of Odessa shortly after 11 a.m., the BBC reported, adding that the information had been confirmed.

At 11:05 a.m., four Onyx missiles hit the Odessa region, UNIAN reports. Ukrainian authorities say they were fired from the Bastion complex in Crimea.

There is still no information about the damage or whether there are any victims or injured.

They warn that rocket attacks in the region are likely to continue and call on people to be vigilant and careful.

At the same time, in Red Square in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Victory Day, blaming the West for the war in Ukraine, saying the Russian Federation had no choice but to launch a "special operation" to invades Ukraine on February 24, 2022

Zelensky: We will not allow Russia to claim the complete victory in World War II

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine will not allow Russia to claim the complete victory in World War II. He stressed that his country would not give "a single piece" of its land to Russia. "The road is difficult, but we have no doubt we will win," Zelensky said.

In a statement marking the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was fighting for a new victory and would win this war against Russia.

"We are fighting for the freedom of our children and that is why we will win. We will never forget what our ancestors did in World War II, in which more than eight million Ukrainians were killed. There will soon be two Victory Days in Ukraine. Then we won. We will win now!", Said President Zelensky and added:"

"On the Day of Victory over Nazism, we are fighting for a new victory. The road is difficult, but we have no doubt that we will win."

The Ukrainian leader also stressed that the Ukrainians are a free people who have fought many times in their history to defend their land and have "their own path."

"We are proud of our predecessors who, along with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition, defeated Nazism. We will not allow anyone to annex this victory, we will not allow it to be appropriated," he said.

In another address last night, the Ukrainian president said Russia had "forgotten everything that was important to the winners of World War II." Zelensky condemned the heavy shelling of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. 60 people were killed in a village in Luhansk region, when a school was hit. The building served as a refuge.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is using Victory Day to call on Russia's leader to end the war in Ukraine immediately. He told the German newspaper Die Welt that Vladimir Putin should withdraw his troops from Ukraine and start peace talks.

Canada will provide more weapons to Ukraine and impose new sanctions on Russia

Canada will provide more weapons and equipment to Ukraine, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after an unannounced visit to Kyiv yesterday, the BBC reported.

After talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trudeau announced that Canada would impose new sanctions on Russian individuals and legal entities in connection with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "Today I am announcing more military aid, drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms, ammunition and other support, including funding for demining operations," Trudeau said.

Canada will also impose sanctions on another 40 Russians and five legal entities, including oligarchs and close associates of the regime in the defense sector.

Trudeau visited the city of Irpen near Kyiv, which was at the center of fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops before the Russians withdrew in late March.

The Canadian prime minister announced that his country was resuming its embassy in the Ukrainian capital.

As part of its efforts to maintain food security, Canada is providing $ 25 million to the United Nations World Food Program and will eliminate trade tariffs on all Ukrainian imports to Canada next year.

New US sanctions on Russia - for advertising and accounting

The United States has announced new sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.

The sanctions include a halt to Western commercials on Russia's three largest television stations, a ban on the ability of US accounting and consulting firms to provide services to Russians, and more restrictions on Russia's industrial sector.

The new sanctions will affect three of Russia's most popular television channels, Channel One, Russia-1 and NTV, which the United States claims are the main television stations spreading misinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The United States says it has already imposed about 2,600 visa restrictions on Russian and Belarusian officials.

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

/BNR, OFFNews, ClubZ

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!