What has happened in the last few hours
On day 439 since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, here is the breaking news at 12:30 p.m. this Monday, May 8:
Moscow launches one of the largest missile and drone attacks on Ukraine on the eve of Victory Day. Moscow has fired one of the largest waves of missiles and drones at Ukraine in recent hours on the eve of the commemoration of the Red Army’s victory over the Nazis – Victory Day on May 9. According to Ukraine, its defenses shot down all 35 Iranian drones launched by Russia. According to the mayor, at least five people were injured in Kiev and there was damage to cars, buildings and infrastructure. In Odessa (south), a security guard at a grocery store was killed and three people injured in the bombardment. According to the Ukrainian army, Moscow has fired 16 rockets at Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odessa provinces in the past 24 hours, in addition to another 61 attacks and 52 heavy artillery shells against Ukrainian positions and areas inhabited by civilians.
Hours after the wave of Russian missiles and drones, Kiev is again activating anti-aircraft alerts across the country. Just hours after Russia fired a large wave of missiles and drones into Ukrainian territory, including the capital Kiev and the province of the same name, earlier this evening, anti-aircraft warnings have sounded again in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian military bloggers, the alerts may have been triggered due to the arrival of a Russian warplane armed with the Kinzhal hypersonic missile. The Portal news agency has not yet been able to confirm the reason for the activation of the anti-aircraft warning.
Prigozhin says his mercenaries are advancing on Bakhmut while waiting for ammunition promised by the Kremlin. The leader of the Wagner mercenary company, Yevgueni Prigozhin, said Monday that his men are advancing further into the eastern Ukraine town of Bakhmut, which is the scene of fierce fighting with Kiev troops. This alleged position advance comes while his men are still waiting for the ammunition promised by the Russian Defense Ministry, which Prigozhin last Friday threatened to pull out of the city because of his group’s lack of weapons. “On that day, the advance of the units of the private military company Wagner was up to 280 meters in different sections. We have advanced 53,000 meters [cuadrados]. 2.37 square kilometers remain under enemy control. We keep moving. We hope to get the ammunition,” Prigozhin said in an audio published on Telegram today.
The EU fears that Russia will use the Kremlin drone incident to escalate further in Ukraine. Due to the image and symbolism, there were two small but powerful explosions: two drones over the Kremlin. Russia first accused Ukraine and then the United States of launching an attack last Wednesday. Kiev and Washington have firmly denied their involvement and there is no evidence as to who is behind what happened. While intelligence sources say it’s too early to tell, analysts and diplomats are divided over whether this is a false flag operation orchestrated by Russia to stoke anti-Western sentiment, an attack on Kiev, or anti-war -partisan groups. At a time when everyone is anticipating the Ukrainian counter-offensive and movements by Kremlin troops, with the backdrop scenario of a Russia increasingly feeling the ramifications of its war in Ukraine, there is one common conclusion: EU fears of Moscow drone incident for another offensive in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy changes the day of victory over the Nazis from May 9th to May 8th. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will have a law entered in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) on Monday to declare May 8 Victory Day against Nazism in Ukraine, which previously celebrated May 9 like in Russia. In doing so, it joins the countries of Western Europe and sets itself apart from Russia, which celebrates its victory over the Nazis on May 9th. “All the ancient evils that modern Russia brings will be defeated in the same way that Nazism was defeated,” Zelenskyy declared in a speech broadcast on his social networks, promising those occupying Moscow to “liberate” territories.
Russia recruits immigrants from Central Asia to avoid forced mobilization. The Russian authorities direct their efforts to recruit migrant workers from Central Asia, the republics of Tajikistan or Uzbekistan to send to Ukraine, offering them salaries of more than 3,700 euros a month and a fast track to obtaining Russian citizenship. This emerges from the latest intelligence report from the British Ministry of Defense, which claims these efforts were due to Moscow’s reluctance to launch a further mobilization process.