May 9, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday congratulated Russia on its annual Victory Day in a letter to his Russian counterpart.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim's letter expressed warm greetings to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian army and people of Russia for their fight "to realize international justice and defend global peace" against so-called "imperialists."

Kim said that under Putin's leadership, Russia will "smash all challenges and threats posed by hostile forces" and prevail in its quest to ensure the country's "sovereignty, dignity and regional stability,” KCNA said. 

North Korea is one of only a handful of countries to show outright support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has blamed the United States and the West for the war.

The KCNA report made no mention of Ukraine. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded his Victory Day speech Tuesday by equating the efforts of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, falsely, to Soviet forces who helped defeat the Nazis in World War II.

Putin has often invoked the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying that the offensive is aimed at "denazifying" the nation -- ignoring the fact that President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish and lost relatives in the holocaust.

Some analysts say the Russian leader is committing some of the same blunders that doomed Germany’s 1941 invasion of the USSR — while using “Hitler-like tricks and tactics” to justify his brutality.

In his Victory Day speech in Red Square Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia honors the sacrifice of the allied armies of the United States, the United Kingdom and China in World War II.

Putin suggested that "experience of solidarity" could be a foundation toward building a "multipolar world."

"I am convinced that the experience of solidarity and partnership in the days of the struggle against a common threat is our heritage and a reliable base of support in our movement towards a multipolar world based on trust and indivisible security, equal opportunities for unique and free development for all nations in the world," Putin said.

Remember: Putin's remarks come just hours after Ukrainian officials said their air defenses had intercepted all but two of 25 cruise missiles fired by Russia overnight — the latest aerial barrage launched by Moscow's forces amid the Russian leader's unprovoked war against Ukraine.

No ships have been inspected for the past two days under a UN-brokered deal to facilitate vital grain exports from Ukraine, the Office of the UN Coordinator of the Black Sea Grain Initiative said Monday.

Earlier Monday, Ukrainian officials blamed Russia for effectively bringing the initiative to a halt, accusing Moscow of not registering or inspecting ships intended to go to and from Ukrainian ports.

The initiative was established in July 2022 to guarantee safe passage for ships exporting grain and oilseeds from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, much of which supports humanitarian operations in heavily-dependent countries like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen.

The deal was last extended on March 18 for 60 days and is set to expire on May 18. Talks between the key parties have so far brought no agreement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin falsely claimed that the West had provoked the war in Ukraine during his Victory Day speech in Red Square on Tuesday.

The Russian leader has previously used similar rhetoric in an attempt to justify his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Some background: Putin was using this type of language in relation to Ukraine long before launching the war. In a lengthy essay penned in July 2021, he referred to Russians and Ukrainians as “one people,” and suggested the West had corrupted Ukraine and yanked it out of Russia’s orbit through a “forced change of identity.”

But Ukrainians, who in the last three decades have sought to align more closely with Western institutions like the European Union and NATO, have pushed back against the notion that they are little more than the West’s “puppet.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed falsely in a speech during the annual Victory Day parade in Moscow that a "true war" is being waged against his country, despite having launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

The largest land war in Europe has sparked a massive humanitarian crisis, leaving thousands of civilians dead and millions displaced.

“We have repelled international terrorism and to fit we will defend the residents of Donbas and secure our own safety," he said, referring to the eastern region of Ukraine that has largely been occupied by Russian forces since Putin ordered the invasion of his neighbor in February last year.

"Russia has no unfriendly nations in the west or in the east," Putin also claimed.

Victory Day is the most significant in Putin's calendar, and he has long used it to rally public support and demonstrate the country's military prowess.

On Tuesday, he claimed that he wants a peaceful future.

"As the majority of people on this planet we want to see the future peaceful, free and stable," he said. "We believe any ideology of supremacy due to its nature is repulsive, criminal and deadly.”

Russia's annual Victory Day parade is underway in Moscow's Red Square, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is watching and expected to make a speech. 

Russian Defense Minster Sergei Shoigu inspected the troops and congratulated them on the 78th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II

Victory Day is the most significant in Russian President Vladimir Putin's calendar, and he has long used it to rally public support and demonstrate the country's military prowess.

But this year, the grandeur of the parade contrasts with Russia's faltering military campaign in Ukraine. Outside of Moscow, several regions in Russia — many near the border with Ukraine — scaled down preparations for the spectacle due to security concerns and a lack of military equipment to display.

Among the troops taking part in the parade today are servicemen who participated in what Russia calls "its special military operation" in Ukraine. 

The US Ambassador to Kyiv criticized Russia for another missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Tuesday as Moscow prepared for its annual Victory Day parade.

Ukrainian officials said their air defenses intercepted all but two of 25 cruise missiles fired by Russia overnight Tuesday as Moscow's aerial barrage intensified. No casualties were reported.

Russia's Victory Day parade is an exhibition of patriotism marking the Soviet Union's role in defeating Nazi Germany, which has long been used by the Kremlin to rally public support and demonstrate the country's military prowess.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv Tuesday to mark Europe Day, according to a post on her Twitter account.

The Ukrainian President on Monday proposed moving World War II Victory Day celebrations a day earlier to May 8 in a bill presented to lawmakers in Kyiv. May 9 would henceforth be celebrated as Europe Day in Ukraine, he added. 

Like Russia, Ukraine traditionally commemorates victory over the Nazis on May 9, but that date has become increasingly associated with a parade in Moscow, used by the Kremlin to flex its military might.